On top of the World
by Mjus
Summary: My shot at a gender bender One Piece story! After being found half dead on an island Monkey D. Ruffy set out to become the pirate king. The first thing she needs is a crew. Fem!Luffy.
1. Pirates!

Malin: IDIOT!

Me: Sorry.

Malin: SUPER FOOL!

Me: Sorry again.

Malin: You wholeheartedly PROMISED to not upload anything new before you had finished the Star and what do you do?

Me: Break the promise.

Malin: EXACTLY! It's new year's day and you have four stories uploaded already, plus the story going on on fictionpress, plus that story you adopted and promised to start on and haven't yet, PLUS...

Me: Working full time and a volunteer work every fourth weekend and cooking and staying healthy and catching some sleep in between.

Malin: (sighs deeply) I'm surprised you have fans at all and that they actually stay with you. Not to mention that this story's already been written a hundred times before by other authors on this site.

Me: (mumbles) I know. (brighten up) But I really did want to take a shot at it because it's just so interesting. More than that, Luffy's eaten a different devil fruit, but I'm not going to tell anyone what it is.

Malin: (helplessly shakes head) "Keeping up the interest" huh. What am I to do with you?

Me: (smiles brightly) Leave me to update this. Eiichiro Oda-sensei owns all rights to One Piece and I'm making absolutely no profit out of writing this. I'm open for suggestions but will mostly follow the original storyline of the manga, once in a while adding spiced scenes from the anime as well as my own fillers and filler chapters and my own set up adventures for the crew. I hope you will enjoy this monster story of mine. If you don't, I'll be good and erase it.

Oh, and warning for gender bender!

Happy reading

* * *

It hurt. Pain pulsed through every vein like blood.

Everything hurt. Dizziness and the brightness made it impossible to see anything.

'Where… am I?'

Slowly the vision cleared. There was a familiar blue beyond moving spots and filters of different green shades.

'The… sky? Trees?'

Somewhere in a short distance a hissing sound was heard. Only after becoming aware of it once, the hissing continued, accompanied with the soft splash.

'The sea…?'

The vision blurred again. It hurt too much.

'Sun…'

Too sad to cry.

Too tired to move or fight the creeping unconsciousness.

There was nothing left but going to sleep, wondering if there would be a tomorrow, wishing the past could just be erased.

_**Pirates!**_

Pirates are barbarians, all of them. Filthy, bloody murderers sailing the sea looking for their next prey. It's said that once branded with the title of pirate, you lose your soul and become nothing but a starving beast. That's why you'd never believe that the people aboard this white and pink ship covered with hearts, walking on their knees to make sure the deck was spotless, were indeed pirates.

They were all men with tattoos, bulky arms and legs who took a bath every second day and cleaned their face morning and night. Armed with cleaning rugs, brooms and mops rather than swords and pistols, they were polishing the wood of the ship as well as the metal of the cannons and cannonballs rather eagerly. The sails and flag were being washed in the boat house ashore.

A woman wearing a blue captain's coat stepped up on the deck with purposely slow and heavy steps and every man stood stiff and straight, waiting for the end of the inspection of their work.

"What is this I see!" the woman roared and picked up a speck of dust that had most probably just blown in from the land where they had docked. "Who is responsible for the railing?!"

"AH! I'm so sorry, Alvida-sama! I'll start over again! Please, just don't…"

The woman turned and glared. "Don't… what?"

"Not the iron bludgeon…!"

The man was sent flying over the railing and to the sea with a crushed skull. Some grieved for their friend and everyone wished they wouldn't be next. They cowered in fear, holding their cleaning tools closer to them as if that would protect them. One man, responsible for the cannonballs, couldn't help himself and started rubbing the metal ball furiously.

"Coby!" the woman called.

"Hai!"

The answer came from a young boy with round glasses, about half or less the size of the rest of the crewmen.

"Who is most beautiful on all the seas?"

"O… o-o-o-of course… it's you… A-Alvida-sama."

"That's right." The woman growled like a hound and turned her enormous body around to face her crew, speaking with a low voice. "I am beautiful. That is why the ship I travel with must be beautiful as well. Get off your lazy asses!"

"HAI! ALVIDA-SAMA!"

Well, at first look they didn't seem like much for being pirates, but the captain, vain as she might be, was the most pirate-like person around, even when she made cleaning-freaks out of her men.

She turned to the little boy she liked to have around. "Tell me why you are alive, Coby."

"B-b-b-be-because… I know h-h-how to na-navigate… Alvida-sama."

"That's right. But that's also the only thing you are good for! Clean my shoes!"

The young boy hurried to take out a small box and a cleaning rug, too scared to do anything but obey. Because the pirate captain Alvida with the iron bludgeon was strong enough to keep a bunch of men, stronger than average, at bay and still have strength to spare.

* * *

The same afternoon the ship stood ready to sail, spotless to the point where it gleamed in the sunlight. The captain of the ship stood and admired it from the shore. Her men had all gone into the forest to gather food and water for their next journey. Coby too. Not that anybody cared about him much, but Alvida insisted they didn't leave him behind.

He had walked farther than the rest; to make sure he wouldn't get in the way and be beaten. Life as a pirate-slave wasn't easy on his small body, and self-esteem he didn't own any.

"Nobody is here, right…" Coby whispered and peeked out into a clearing from behind a tree. He couldn't see anyone and sighed in relief.

Coming out from behind the tree the young boy intended to walk around a rather large hole in the ground to pass the clearing and hide behind the next tree. That is, until he noticed what was in the bottom of said hole and stood stiff.

A person lay down there. A person with long black hair, covered with blood and holding onto a katana with both hands. Coby just stood there trembling and gaping.

'What… should… I do?' he thought halfway into panic.

First he jumped in behind a bush to hide. That was the safest in case the person was to wake up and attack. But after a few minutes with silence, Coby dared to peek out from under the bush. He slowly crawled over to the hole.

"Ano…?" he called down, barely above a whisper.

The person stayed still.

"Are… are you okay?"

Still nothing. So this person wouldn't wake up and attack. That's why Coby dared to go down into the hole and take a closer look.

The wounds looked painful. The cloths were tattered, if you could call them cloths. Maybe it had been a kimono once, but there wasn't much left of it.

"Are you… dead?"

When there was still no answer, Coby's panic was a fact. Holding his head he ran around the whole clearing in a circle.

'What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I dooooo?'

A groan made him stop dead in his tracks. For about a minute Coby stood as still as a stone statue, hardly breathing.

"Some… one…"

Coby's heart tried to escape his chest. He turned, hearing the impossibly loud cracking of his neck.

"Is there… somebody there?"

The voice was weak, and followed by a sound as if the person talking was being strangled.

Coby jumped away at first and then quickly crawled on his stomach to the edge of the hole. The person down there had a pained expression and was tugging at something that Coby couldn't see, but was grasping the person's throat.

Even with his cowardly nature, Coby was still a caring soul and therefore jumped down to the person to take a look and try to be of some help. But the stranger threw an arm out, ripping off the cloth from the left side, and laid still, breathing harshly.

It was a woman. Coby basically knew what a female body looked like, but had never seen one exposed. Because naturally, nobody exposed themselves to strangers… and God be blessed that Alvida-sama didn't enjoy showing skin.

He should cover it again. If this woman happened to open her eyes he'd be a dead man. So Coby slowly, very, very, very carefully slowly reached out over the body trembling with a harsh breath to move the cloth back over the… breast.

Looking at his arm Coby noticed his skin had turned red. This wasn't good. Not at all. Here he was in the middle of the forest with a half-naked woman and Alvida-sama would soon grow impatient and start looking for him.

"Who are you?"

Nobody had probably ever jumped so high or so far. The stranger girl couldn't help but laugh, but started coughing almost immediately.

"Ah… are you alright?"

The girl took a deep breath and looked up at him. She had dark brown eyes with such a depth that Coby thought he would drown if he looked too deep into them.

"I'll manage," the girl croaked and smiled.

Coby felt like he was shot through his heart by an arrow.

"Where is this place?"

"This… Alvida-sama has a…" The mention of the enormous woman-pirate brought Coby back to his senses. "I'm sorry. This island is the base of the pirate captain Alvida with the iron bludgeon. I'm the chore boy, my name's Coby."

"Oh." The girl giggled a little, but stopped when she started coughing again, still she smiled. "Well, not that it matters. I can't really move right now." Her face became thoughtful. "And I'm so huuungryyyy."

At that Coby remembered what he was doing in the forest to begin with. He actually had gathered a little bit of fruit and he could get a bit of water from his secret base.

"Wait here a minute."

* * *

Everyone was coming back, one after one. They brought aboard wild boars and birds that they had caught, vegetables and barrels of saké and water.

They were all coming back, except for one.

"Oi, you."

"Yes captain?"

"Where is the pipsqueak?"

* * *

"My name's Rayla, but my friends call me Ruffy. Thanks for feeding me."

"Oh, no problem."

The odd girl had managed to cover her chest and sit up as Coby went to bring some food and water. It was only some apples and grapes, but this girl ate them with pleasure.

"Excuse me, um, Rayla-san…"

"Ruffy."

"Huh?"

"My friends call me Ruffy," the girl said and fired another big smile, unknowingly shooting a second, third and fourth arrow through Coby's poor heart.

"Ru… Ru… Ruffy-san."

The girl smiled again, a different smile, one that was as bright as the sun and made Coby realize how sad she had looked before then.

"Ruffy-san… what are you doing here?"

"I don't know. I was sent flying and woke up here."

"Sent flying… from where?"

"I don't know, but it was really scary. I don't even know what sea this is."

The boy's thoughts ended half-finished as a single question pushed through his mind. "What sea are you from?"

The girl looked strangely at him. "East Blue?"

Coby sighed with relief and laughed at himself. For a second he had thought Ruffy-san had been sent flying from another ocean. How silly of him. His imagination was way too wild.

"Don't worry," he told the girl with a smile. "You're still in East Blue."

"Oh," was all she answered and stuffed another apple into her mouth.

"But Ruffy-san, have you been in a fight. All those wounds."

"Yeah, I've been fighting for some time. But I guess it's over now."

Coby looked at her. Even when Ruffy-san continued to eat, something sad had come over her… again.

He took in her appearance in more detail. Her body looked lean… no meagre. The bare arms looked scrawny even with the lines of muscle showing underneath the bloodied skin. The kimono-thing she wore had probably once been white, but was now more red, grey and dark brown. Thick jet-black hair flowed down the girl's back all the way to her waist, and a worn straw hat rested on her back, hanging in a string around her neck.

There was something else there, around the neck; a thin chain with black beads about an inch apart. Underneath the string for the hat and the bead-necklace was a two inches broad scar. One that seemed to make a full circle around Ruffy-san's throat.

Coby was about to ask about it when the sound of splintered wood reached them, followed by a black comet that passed over their heads. Good thing they sat in a hole.

Ruffy turned and followed the projectile with her eyes. Coby screamed.

"Where have you been, Coby?!"

Alvida easily caught her bludgeon as it returned to her like a boomerang. Her body towered over the two sitting inside the hole in the ground.

"What's this I see? Coby? Have you hired a bounty hunter?"

The boy trembled badly and couldn't form a single sound that even slightly resembled words. Ruffy stared openly.

"Very well then. Coby!"

That demanding tone of voice had been used against him for two years, so the response was automatic "Ha-hai?"

"I'll ask you one last time. Who is most beautiful on all the seas?"

"Tha… that is… o-of course…" Coby stuttered, forcing the words off his reluctant tongue like so many times before, only this time he knew; saying those words wouldn't save him. Had he ever been this scared in his life?

"Who's this fat old lady?"

For a few seconds after those words, the world fell silent. The speaker was Ruffy, who sat on the ground with her finger pointing at Alvida. Everybody who heard stood gaping in shock, until Alvida's growling voice broke the silence that is.

"Whaaat diiiiid yoooooouuuuuu saaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy?"

Coby acted fast and grabbed Ruffy by the shoulders and shook her. "Don't say that! This woman is the world's most…"

He stared into the surprised face of the stranger girl. Her eyes were big and had a warm colour, her face was nice and her body was, albeit lacking fat, better shaped than any woman Coby remembered having seen in his life. She didn't wear any make-up and still her long, dark eye-lashes made her eyes seem bigger and her naturally medium pink lips stood out, even when slightly chapped. No freckles or blemishes anywhere on her skin save the cuts.

Yes, save the cuts, blood and dirt, Ruffy-san was everything that Alvida was not.

"The world's most what? Eh? Coby!"

The boy took a deep breath. "FATTEST… UGLIEST SMELLY OLD HAAAAAG!"

Half of Alvida's crewmembers fainted.

Ruffy laughed wholeheartedly.

Alvida exploded. "KONOU GAKIIIIII!"

Coby screamed and held his head, as if that could save him.

But something did save him. Ruffy grabbed his waist and jumped backwards, out of reach for the bludgeon Alvida swung at him. Throwing the boy in behind her, Ruffy stood prepared with the still sheathed katana.

Alvida raised an eyebrow. "Huh? You're not that pirate hunter Lolonoa Zoro, are you?"

"Pirate…?"

* * *

_"You are pirates?"_

_The six year old girl tilted her head to the side, curiously watching the man beside the bed she had just woken up in._

_"Yes. But don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you."_

_She tilted her head to the other side, taking in the straw hat over the man's red hair, his dark eyes and kind face, the open shirt, the sash around his waist, the loose black pants and the sandals on his feet._

_"Are you sure you're a pirate?" she asked._

_The man with the red hair laughed, along with the other three men in the room._

_"Why do you doubt? I should know what I am," the man said._

_"But jii-chan says that pirates are evil and mean."_

_The man laughed again and ruffled the girl's black hair. "I'm just not mean to a little kid girl that was about to drown. What were you doing in the water anyway?"_

_"I played a prank on jii-chan and he threw me out the window and I landed in the water."_

_For some reason, the room fell very silent._

_"Okay. Where are you from? We can deliver you back to your island."_

_"Really?"_

_"Really. Come on, let's go up to deck and greet the others."_

_"Are they pirates too?" the girl asked and let the man lift her into his arms._

_"Yup. We are all pirates on this ship, except for you."_

_"Can I be a pirate too?"_

_For the third time, the red-haired man started laughing. "I don't think your parents would appreciate that."_

_"I think mother was one before, but she quit."_

_"Oh, that would make it easier for you then," the man said. "My name is Shanks."_

_"I'm Ruffy."_

_They just made it to the deck when a man skidded to a halt right in front of them. "Captain! It's Garp! He just took aim for us."_

_"Oh, that's not good. Sorry Ruffy-chan. I have to ask you to…"_

_"That's my jii-chan!"_

_"What?!"_

_The men on deck looked from the little girl to the dog-headed marine ship. Ruffy got out of Shank's grasp and ran over to the railing._

_"Jii-chan! Jii-chan!" she called and waved._

_Immediately the grand man stood on top of the figure head. "YOU BLOODY PIRATES! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO MY GRANDDAUGHTER?!"_

_"They saved me, jii-chan no baka!" the girl yelled back._

_"BE QUIET! I'M GOING OVER THERE TO PICK YOU UP RIGHT NOW!"_

_"That's some jii-chan you have there," Shanks said, impressed._

_"Violent jii-chan… hits me all the time," the girl mumbled with a pout. "So I'll be a pirate instead."_

_"Oh? Isn't he gonna be angry then?"_

_"But pirates run from marines, right. If I'm a pirate, I don't have to go to jii-chan and be hit."_

_Once again Shanks laughed, until Garp jumped onto his deck. The pirates all silenced and stiffened, glaring at the intruder._

_"I didn't invite you," said the suddenly serious red-haired pirate dangerously._

_"I don't need an invitation from a pirate to fetch my granddaughter. I'm gonna make a great marine of her, so be prepared."_

_"No. I'm gonna be a pirate," the girl said bluntly._

* * *

"Well, it doesn't matter who you are. I'm gonna crush you both here and now!"

Alvida swung her bludgeon down and heard a loud crash.

All the men of the pirate captain Alvida with the iron bludgeon suddenly felt smaller. Coby couldn't believe what he saw, because surely it couldn't be real.

The girl with the straw hat and katana still stood with her first up. All around her lay scratted chunks of iron, big and small.

Alvida stared at the handle of her beloved weapon. It was the only thing left of it.

"What? My iron bludgeon…?! How…? Who are you?"

The girl looked up at the other woman with a wide, challenging grin and eyes the colour of pure gold. "I'm Monkey D. Ruffy." Her eyes flashed as her grin widened. "Pirate."


	2. Coby and Ruffy

January is OVER! FINALLY! The longest month of the year has passed, just when I started to think it never would. I'll celebrate this first day of Febuary with an update, that's just how happy I am :D

Okay, since nobody's told me this story's terrible and some have put it on thier favourite and/or alert list, I figure it's okay to continue. The chapter's a filler mostly but I'm still checking the temperature here, and the title says it all so I couldn't add more than that. So, please enjoy reading and Zoro will have his grand appearance in the next chapter :D

Don't forget to review so that I can tell what to make of this story; continue or trash it.

* * *

_**Pirate chore boy Coby and pirate rookie Ruffy**_

On a small uninhabited island in East Blue it was very quiet. Usually it was a calm island where the furry and feathery inhabitants only cared about their next meal or to not become one. But at the moment all animals were hiding in their holes and the birds in their nests.

Near the west beach of the island was a small clearing that once had been a good place for wild boars to find food. Now a shallow hole had taken up most of the space. But all around the hole lay the pieces of a weapon. Some of the pieces were just chumps of iron, others were partly shaped; a flat side, or a piece of a spike. Not that you'd pay much attention to that if you saw this scenery. You'd most certainly be focused on the people, the two women facing each other most of them.

"Pirate?" The bigger of the women spoke with disbelief. "Are you a pirate? Just you?"

"It's just me right now," the younger girl answered with a nod. "But a friend told me there are a lot of pirates in this era, so I'm gonna go out there and look for some good nakama."

If you hadn't seen what happened a while ago, you'd not believe that it was the girl many times smaller than the other woman who had the upper hand.

Behind that small girl sat a boy perhaps the same age or younger than her, wondering what was happening and what he was seeing. The girl he had found unconscious in the forest who had smiled with a hint of sadness seemed to be on fire. Not literally, but there was definitely something shining about her, like the strength she had just displayed. Alvida had brought her iron bludgeon down with all her might, Ruffy-san had met it with her bare fist and the bludgeon and shattered. The katana was still sheathed in her other hand.

Alvida looked between the handle of her dear weapon and the lean girl standing in front of her. "You… could you have eaten one of the rumoured devil fruits?"

"Hm? Yes. How'd you know?"

"So it's true. I thought it was strange a scrawny kid like you managed to break my iron bludgeon. But if you've eaten a devil fruit it makes sense. Although I always thought they were only a myth."

"It's not strange. I'm just stronger than you, fatty."

It was the third time in the same day, and in as many minutes, someone shamelessly told Alvida she was fat and once again she lost common sense at such a rude insult. She didn't have her club anymore, so she pulled out her gun.

"I'm gonna…"

Coby caught the katana Ruffy threw at him as she jumped forward, grabbing Alvida's hand.

"Being this fat," the young girl said and brought her fist back, "has made you slow!"

The fist connected with Alvida's face, sending her flying. Her crew ducked as she came at them and only heard how trees broke when their captain flew into them. They kept their heads down as the trees fell over with loud sounds of shattering wood.

Once everything fell silent again, Alvida was out cold and her crew stood face to face with the little girl who had defeated her.

"Besides, it's not healthy," the girl said to the fallen woman before turning to the men watching with their mouths agape. "Give me a small boat," she ordered. "I'm getting out of here."

"Ha-hai," they answered hesitatingly.

"Make sure to pack it well for me. I need food, water and money. This instant."

"Yes! Anything you want!" the men said and ran off to do as they had been ordered. What else could they do? This girl had the power of the devil!

"Oh, and Coby."

"Hai?"

Ruffy smiled at him. "You're coming with me, right?"

* * *

The island disappeared into the waves as Coby watched. He couldn't believe it. Everything had happened so fast today. He had woken up as a pirate chore boy this morning, like every morning for the last two years, and now it was noon and he was free. Free! He wouldn't wake up to curses and death-threats anymore. No more being kicked around and beaten down. Never more slaving his life away on his knees and lick the boots of a woman he most of all wanted to vomit over.

In the bow of the small boat they had gotten sat a girl named Rayla, Ruffy-san, almost finished with the food supply they had been given by the pirates Coby had been a slave to for the last two years. Pirates whose captain had been defeated with a single punch.

"Oi, Coby. Aren't you hungry?" Ruffy asked and held up a red fruit.

"Uh… no. Not really."

"You sure? Okay."

Coby watched as the girl finished the food, crumpled the sacks together and stuffed them in between two crafts. Then she sat back and happily patted her swollen belly.

"Ah! That was some good food. I could have eaten a lot more."

The boy didn't say anything and just looked at his hands. For two years he had taken Alvida-sama and her crew anywhere they wanted so he knew these waters quite well, but had no idea where to go now. He couldn't go home, mostly because it hadn't been much of a home to begin with, and he was too old to go back to the orphanage now. He had to make a living of something, but sailing and doing chores was about the only thing he was good at. So where would he go? Well, there was a place he wanted to go to, but… he couldn't. It was just not possible. He still dreamt, in the deepest parts of his heart, a dream that lived with him for so long now it had become like an old friend. It was his escape in the dark of night and alley through the terror of death he had lived with every day.

But it was only a dream, and one he couldn't chase. It was impossible for him.

Ruffy hummed a little tune, gaining Coby's attention. The girl was leaning against the railing with her head back and straw hat resting on her belly. Even with the blood and dirt and that barely keeping it together kimono she whore, Ruffy-san looked the picture of calm contentment.

Coby realized something. He didn't have a heading, but maybe Ruffy-san had.

"Ruffy-san? Are we going to your island?"

"Hm? I don't know. Are we?"

"Ruffy-san! Are you saying we're just drifting? Didn't you say you are a pirate? You should have set a course or something, right? By the way, why am I doing the steering? Why don't you take the helm… because you can navigate, right?"

The girl stared at him. "Nope. Do I have to?"

Coby almost collapsed. "Of course you have to! If you just drift around in a boat you'll die from one accident or another!"

"Is that so? The water is so calm here," Ruffy said and stared into the water.

"They might be calm right now, but you never know when a storm might appear! Good thing I know these waters, so I'll take you back to your home."

But Coby didn't get the chance, because Ruffy didn't hear him or she ignored him. Either way, all of a sudden she took the kimono off her shoulders and sat on the railing, looking over her shoulder into the water and leaving her breasts on clear display.

Ruffy made some sounds, but none that registered in Coby's mind. Only when the white chest was covered again he returned to reality, with force, because Ruffy took him by the collar of his shirt, hauled him over the railing and held him underwater.

"What was that for?" Coby coughed once Ruffy took him back into the boat.

"You stared. That's really rude."

"You're the one who undressed."

"But you seemed like a gentleman, so I figured you'd turn away."

"I would have if you'd asked me to!"

"Really?"

Coby gave up. Confronting this girl was useless once she gave him that oblivious face.

"A-anyway. Where are we going?"

"I don't know. Where are you taking me?"

The boy ignored the improper image that popped into his mind best he could. "Ruffy-san, don't you want to go back to your island?"

"Not really. I haven't been there in a long time, and it's not like anybody is waiting for me. However," she took her long tousled hair and examined it, "a bath would feel good right about now. We have money. So take me to the nearest island with a bathtub."

"O… okay. There is a marine base there though. I always…"

Ruffy looked at him.

"Are you okay with that?" Coby asked her.

"With what?"

"That there is a marine base…"

"Doesn't matter. If I can wash up and get some new cloths I'm happy. Besides, I became a pirate just a couple of hours ago, so it's okay."

"Oh, I see. A couple of hours…" The boy's head jerked up. "WHAT! Ruffy-san, you mean you decided to be a pirate right then and there!?"

"No. I just decided it was a good time to start as one."

That was it. Coby couldn't take it anymore. This girl would be the death of him with her ever cheerful… naivety!

"Then what are you gonna do as a pirate without a crew, Ruffy-san?"

"I'll gather a strong crew. Ten man at least." She looked out over the sea with an excited face. "I'm gonna be the king of all pirates!"

In the middle of the sea, a young boy named Coby sat in a boat together with the world's most reckless person, one with no sense of tact or danger.

"The king of pirates?! Are you crazy? That is the title of the one who has everything the world has to offer! You're going after the world's greatest treasure, the treasure that unites everything; the One Piece?"

"Yup."

"_'Yup'_?! Is that all you have to say? You're gonna die! Every pirate in the world is looking for that treasure!"

"Me too."

"You're a girl!"

"Yes?"

"You can't! It's impossible. Absolutely impossible. Utterly impossible! To stand on top of the world in this great pirate era isn't possible. There's no chance. You can't do it! Completely impossible…"

Ruffy let the boy become familiar with her fist.

"Why'd you hit me?"

"Because you're getting on my nerves."

Coby rubbed his sore forehead where a bump was starting to form. Good thing Ruffy-san didn't hit as hard as Alvida-sam… as Alvida.

"Besides, I don't mind dying."

"Huh?" Coby looked up to see Ruffy with a determined but pained spark in her eyes. She pulled her hat down to hide her eyes for a second, before she lifted her head again and looked to the horizon with the face of someone who had made up her mind.

"It doesn't matter if the decision was hasty or something I wanted a long time ago. It's my own decision; my goal," she grabbed her katana and held it to her heart with a solemn expression "and my dream. Even though I promised I'd live on, if I die fighting for my dream, it's okay."

Once again Coby stood helpless. He had already lost counting on how many times he'd lost to this girl during the few hours they'd known each other. The fire in her eyes wasn't something he could win against. She was too strong for him. Fearless of death because her dream was stronger… Her dream was stronger than any fear…

Coby tightly grabbed the fabric of his pants. "Do you think… I can too?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think…" he lifted his gaze to Ruffy's "I can become a marine?"

The girl blinked at him. "A marine?"

"Yes! It's been…!" Coby had jumped up, but the sudden movement made the boat rock so he sat back down. "It's been my dream ever since I was a little kid! I always wanted to join the marines and catch bad guys and help innocent people!"

"Weren't you a pirate chore boy until just now?"

Another loss. All Coby's energy waned and he fell into depression. "Ruffy-san, you don't have to be so blunt."

The girl sat with her legs crossed, humming and swinging her knees up and down.

"It was a fateful day," Coby told her. "I was going out fishing. But it turned out that the boat I boarded… was a pirate ship. Alvida-sa… Alvida only let me live this long because I know how to navigate and they had just lost their navigator to the marines."

Ruffy laughed loudly. "Oh my. You're both dumb and useless, and a coward to top it off. You're the type I hate the most."

Coby weakly laughed along, knowing that what Ruffy-san said probably was true.

"But we're going there now?" Ruffy asked. "To that marine base?"

"Uh? Yes?"

"Good. If you grow a backbone till we get there, I'm sure you'll be able to join them. The marines."

If the girl was being snide or frank was impossible to tell, the way she was smiling.

"I get it," Coby said crying, his almost non-existent pride hurt.

* * *

It was about an hour later, after a long silence where Coby had gotten the time he needed to set the course and somewhat come to terms with his new situation, when Ruffy spoke up again, pointing forward from her place in the bow.

"I see an island. Is that where we're going?"

"Already? We shouldn't be there until another forty-five minutes/an hour." Coby stood up, shaded his eyes with his hands and squinted. "Where?" he asked. All he could see was water and sky.

"Right up ahead," Ruffy said and pointed again. "Let's go. I'm getting hungry."

"Hungry? An hour ago you ate a week's supply of food. How can you be hungry already?"

"That wasn't enough for me. I need a lot more!" Ruffy stretched her neck like a rooster and spied forward. "I think I see the marine base on the island too. So that's our destination."

She laughed in excitement, but Coby didn't join her.

"This isn't really a laughing matter, Ruffy-san. I heard a rumour."

The girl turned to him and Coby used his gravest voice.

"The place where we're headed, the marines there caught him. The famous pirate hunter; Lolonoa Zoro."

"Zoro?"

"He hunts down pirates like a bloodthirsty beast. It's said that he's a demon in man disguise. A very dangerous man."

"Says who?"

Coby blinked as his bubble of tension popped. "Eh? Everyone. Why?"

"Poor guy. Can't be easy to make friends if everyone's scared of him."

Coby gaped, and then whined. "Ruffy-san! He's feared is because he wants to be."

Ruffy hummed, and then she smiled. "He might be a good guy."

"He was caught because he isn't!" Coby argued. He wouldn't let Ruffy-san win this one and that's final.

"Is he really strong?"

"Of course he is, didn't you hear me? He is Lolonoa Zoro, the pirate hunter! He's a fearsome swordsman who slits the throat of everyone!"

"But if he's that strong, how could the marine catch him?"

Coby tried, but couldn't find anything to answer that. "Why are you asking anyway?" he queried instead.

Ruffy grinned happily. "I was thinking of recruiting him to my crew."

A little boat manned by a small boy named Coby was on the way to the marine base holding the most dangerous man in East Blue. In the same boat sat a smiling girl with no sense of danger _What-So-Ever_.

"Ruffy-san! I've tried to tell you he's a monster! A demon! A pirate killer! The moment you say you're a pirate you're good as dead! Having him in the crew would be suicide! You can't do it! It's impossible! Absolutely imp…"

Coby was silenced and given another bump on his head twice the size of the first one.

"Why'd you hit me?"

"Because you're getting on my nerves bad."


	3. Ruffy's struggle and Lolonoa Zoro

Since it's Valentine's day and all, here's my gift; Chapter three! Enter Lolonoa Zoro.

For your attention; a good half of this chapter is not canon and you'll notice I've altered Ruffy's past with a lot (but not too much I hope) If you've got questions, just ask. I answer to almost all my reviewers :)

On with the chapter, and don't forget to send me a review so I'll know if it's worth the time to write this story :)

* * *

**_Ruffy's inner struggle and Pirate hunter Lolonoa Zoro_**

It was a rather busy little town, with the marine base watching over it like a solemn guardian. A few fishermen sat beside their little boats fixing their nets while their friends tried to sell the catch. The main street opened in front of the little fish market at the dock and Coby could see stalls selling vegetables and spices and people buying them.

Ruffy jumped ashore with a laugh and pumped a fist into the air. "We're here. We actually reached the island. You're amazing, Coby."

"Of course. Navigation is the least you must know as a sailor. Ruffy-san, you won't become a pirate by drifting around on the sea. You should get a navigator first of all."

"Sounds good. Let's go, I wanna bath."

Coby could understand that when he looked at the people of the town. They all stared at them, some less subtle than others. A bloodied, barely dressed girl with a katana in hand and him, they probably made some sight. For the first time ever Coby was thankful to Alvida for being such a clean freak… but only a microscopic little bit. At least he wasn't dirty and disgusting like Ruffy-san must feel.

The girl walked up to a stall selling pears. "Hey, obaa-san. Where's the inn?"

The merchant, and old, hunchbacked woman, wrung her thin, wrinkled hands. "Inn? The inn? Don't you mean the hospital, dear? You're so hurt."

"No. I was just in a fight. This is not as bad as it looks, but I really need a bath. So where is the inn?"

The woman continued to wring her hands and whine about the blood on Ruffy's body for a moment. Then she nodded up the street. "If you go that way and take the second turn to the left the inn should be around there."

"I see. Thank you, obaa-san."

"Are you sure you don't need a doctor?"

"I'm sure. Thank you."

Following in her tracks, Coby suddenly realized Ruffy was barefoot, and that her feet left footprints of fresh blood.

"Ruffy-san! Your feet."

"They are okay, I can still walk on them," she answered, not even stopping in her tracks. "Aren't you going to the base?"

Coby fidgeted. "I… I don't think I'm ready yet. And I'm worried about you."

"Really?"

Maybe Coby had hoped Ruffy would be touched by his concern, but she obviously didn't care either way. The boy sighed.

"Ruffy-san. You're not still considering recruiting Zoro to your…"

Everyone within hearing range suddenly yelped loudly and jumped away, as far away from the two of them as they could.

Ruffy laughed at them, but Coby pulled her down and whispered; "This is the Zoro you want in your crew. Please reconsider."

"I haven't decided yet. I'll go find him later to see if he's a good guy or not," she swatted his hands away and looked around. "Second turn to the left…"

The girl stopped in the mouth of the street and looked at the signs before walking up to a mother and child.

"Hey. Where's the inn?"

"The inn? Shouldn't you go visit the doctor first? What happened to you?"

"Just a fight, but I'd really like to find the inn here."

The woman held her son a bit closer. "It's just up ahead. The inn's name is Kame and has a green door."

"That's good to know. Thank you."

They continued on the new road and found the green door. Ruffy seemed to think only about washing up and walked straight in as if she owned the place.

"Excuse me. Where's the bathtub."

An old man sat behind the counter with his nose buried in a newspaper. At the intrusion he looked up, caught sight of the bloodied girl and screamed.

"Girl! Girl! Were you attacked? Is the Commodore attacking?! Are we under attack? HELP! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

A beer mug flying through the air hit the old man in the head and knocked him out cold.

"Don't scare the costumers like that, you old fool!"

Coby, who had hid behind Ruffy when the man started screaming, turned to see a straight-backed old woman walking up to them. She still had a little red left in her otherwise white hair and her reddish brown eyes were strong. Yet they became gentle as they landed on Ruffy.

"Poor child. Look at you. I'm sure you want to bathe and properly clean up."

"Thank you," Ruffy smiled brightly and she followed the woman towards a staircase.

"I'm Masako, owner of this inn, and the idiot behind the counter is my husband Toya."

"I'm Rayla. You can call me Ruffy."

As the women went up the stairs, Coby was left alone and therefore walked up to the counter and the old man lying behind it.

"Ano, are you okay?"

"How could I marry such a violent woman?" the man whined.

Upstairs Ruffy helped Masako to prepare the bath. It was an old-fashion bathroom with a tub that looked more like a wooden barrel. Even so it was big enough to fit a large person without a problem. Ruffy was pretty small-sized, so the barrel was big for her.

"That should do it," the woman said and dried her hands on the towel she had in the pocket of her apron. "Now undress. I'll help you clean your back and take a look at those…"

Ruffy put the woman down outside the door, "I need some clean cloths too, please, obaa-san." and closed it.

For a few seconds the woman stood there, too shocked over the treatment.

"You little brat! Is that how you thank an old woman for her kindness?"

"Oh, thank you for your kindness. Will I have to walk around the town in a towel to find cloths?"

The woman growled and held up a trembling fist, but after a while, Masako accepted that the little girl probably needed some privacy. Therefore Masako went to her room to try to find something her daughters might have left behind.

* * *

In the bathroom Ruffy was scrubbing her arms, legs and body free of the dried blood. Examining the wounds she found that some of them had healed already. Like usual. None of the new wounds had caused any scars. Only the old ones were still there, plain to see if you looked carefully enough.

She reached down to her back and scratched, clawed at the already marred skin, reached in from different angles until she knew she drew blood. She continued digging her nails into her flesh, tearing the skin open as much as possible. When the pain level got high enough Ruffy released a breath and sank back down into the water.

It stung. The hot water kept the new wounds open and Ruffy watched as the blood swirled around and coloured the water pink.

She got up and tied a white towel around her body. There was a washbowl by the wall and a white painted cabinet with a mirror hanging above it. Opening the lockers Ruffy found mirrors on the inside of them too, and on a shelf inside were a brush and a scissor. She took them both, closed the cabinet and stared at her reflection. She hadn't minded her hair in weeks, so she started brushing it, taking her time to work out all the tousles until it hung smooth over her shoulders.

It was a pretty face that looked back at her from the mirror. Tanned complexion, dark eyes, long eyelashes and the raven black hair. The scar circling her neck didn't look as bad as it sometimes felt. Even if she could consider herself lucky to have survived, she couldn't help but wish the scar and the whole experience would just disappear.

Throwing the brush aside Ruffy picked up the scissors, grabbed her hair and with one snip cut it all off. Long black strands of hair fell to the floor. Ruffy already felt better, even with the burning sensation on her back and the twisting knife in her heart.

Working with the sharp tool Ruffy cut off the rest of the long strands of hair, shortening her hairdo until it mostly resembled a boy's cut. It was uneven, but definitely felt better.

She took another look at her reflection. It looked so different without the long hair, but the face in the mirror could still be called pretty.

* * *

Search successful. Masako had given birth to three daughters, today twenty-six, thirty-four and forty years old, and all of them had left cloths behind during the years. Skirts and trousers of all lengths, blouses and shirts of many shapes and colours, and some lingerie. Masako had picked out a few of each article so that Ruffy-san could choose for herself.

"Ruffy-san," she announced her presence and knocked on the bathroom door. "Ruffy-san, I found some cloths for you. Can I come in?"

Silence.

She knocked again. "Ruffy-san?"

Nothing but silence.

"I'm coming in!"

The scene was like something out of a horror show. The water in the bathtub was pink, the white washbowl and wall were splattered with blood. On the floor lay long strands of black hair. With her back against the tub sat the young girl holding her face with fresh blood on her hands and all over herself.

"Ru…!"

Masako stepped forward and immediately lifted her foot again. Under it she found the scissor she kept in the cabinet, its sharp tip dyed in red.

"Ruffy-san?" Could this girl be suicidal? Masako quickly walked up to her and kneeled down.

"Ha!"

The old woman flinched away at Ruffy's sudden outburst.

"Take that. Now I'm not pretty anymore."

"Ruffy-san?"

The younger girl took her hands away and looked up. Blood was flowing freely from an open wound under her left eye. That eye couldn't see properly.

She was in pain. There were tears in her eyes, along with something dark and painful.

Ruffy sneered. "A woman with a scarred face is ugly. The long hair he said he liked, I cut it off. This pretty face he said he loved, I ruined it. Now I have no value. Take that. Heh! Bloody idiot."

She cried. She laughed. Ruffy cried bitter tears, her body shaking with sobs and laugher.

The inn owner couldn't take it. She embraced the girl and held her close. "Don't say anything. I don't understand, but I don't want to hear anymore either."

Ruffy trembled and held herself.

"You've had it though, haven't you, child," Masako continued. "I can tell. But you're safe now. I won't let anything harm you in my house."

* * *

Evening. When Ruffy didn't come back down Coby had gone looking for her. Finding her with the owner inside the blood-splattered bathroom had scared him dangerously close to a heart-attack. Now he sat in the inn's restaurant with a cup of black tea he forced himself to drink.

After some time, Masako came to make him company.

"Masako-san. How is Ruffy-san doing?"

The old woman sighed and sipped on her own cup of tea. "She's sleeping right now, Coby-kun. No wonder. Poor child cried nonstop until she fell asleep. I had to stitch the wound in her face while she still cried and bandaged her back."

Coby stared into his dark tea. He hadn't noticed at all. Ruffy-san had seemed so strong, she had been burning, she had defeated Alvida like nothing. All the while suffering from some soul-deep wound.

For the umpteenth time that day Coby felt defeated.

"By the way," Masako broke through his thoughts. "That sword Ruffy-san has. I put it in the room with her, but it was really a feeling to hold it. Is she a swordsman? A bounty hunter?"

Coby fidgeted. "I don't really know. We only met today and she's been helping me a lot."

As if he could reveal Ruffy-san was a pirate… even when starting today.

* * *

The next morning Ruffy didn't wake up. She lay curled up in a tight ball between the covers on the bed, so quiet Masako had to make sure she was still breathing. From the looks of it the young girl had been crying in her sleep too. Sighing tiredly Masako let Ruffy sleep.

But at noon the inn echoed by a loud, terrified scream. Masako and Coby both rushed to Ruffy's room. Unfortunately they walked in only to see her topless and covered with sweat.

She greeted them both with a pillow and her fists and closed the door.

"Ruffy-san, are you all right?" Masako called through the door's wood, knocking on it with hopes of being let inside. "We heard you scream, can I help you in any way?"

For a long while it was silent. Coby took the time and carefully fixed his glasses without taking his eyes off the door.

"A bath," Ruffy's voice suddenly sounded through the wood. "I-I need another bath."

The inn owner sighed, mostly from relief. "Okay Ruffy-san. I'll fix it immediately and tell my husband to make you some food."

Coby watched the elderly woman leave, but stayed put himself. He was worried. Ruffy-san who had seemed so strong yesterday was suddenly a little scared girl who suffered from nightmares.

So even strong people had nightmares, huh?

When Masako came back after about fifteen minutes Coby still sat outside Ruffy's door. The old woman sent the boy one tired look before she knocked on the door again.

"Ruffy-san. The bath is ready."

"Go away! Don't look at me, dammit!"

The two outside the door exchanged a look. Coby felt cold inside. Was it really Ruffy-san on the other side of the door?

Masako only sent a sad and troubled look at the door's handle. "Okay, Ruffy-san. We'll leave you alone. I left some cloths in the bathroom for you. Take anything you need."

She motioned with her head to Coby they should leave.

It took two hours. For two whole hours Coby and Masako sat facing each other over a table without saying a word, both with deep frowns of concern in their foreheads.

After two hours Ruffy came down the stairs wearing a pair of blue knee-length shorts, a red tank top and the katana bound to a belt at her hip, straw hat on her head and a bright smile on her face. Like nothing had happened.

"Ah! I haven't felt this good in a while. Breakfast?"

Coby and Masako both let out breaths of relief.

"It is noon, Ruffy-san," the inn owner explained. "Almost time for lunch."

"That's okay. I can eat both breakfast and lunch."

Though still not convinced the young girl was as fine as she probably wanted them to believe, Masako served the girl some reheated porridge, fruit, juice and bread for breakfast as her husband cooked the lunch in the kitchen."

"How long are you planning on staying here, Ruffy-san?" Masako asked when the porridge was gone and the girl was chewing on the last orange.

"We'll get going after eating. I wanna see if that demon is still around."

Masako silenced and Coby held his breath, wishing she wouldn't realize.

Toya came out with the lunch; a hot pie with minced meat and a light sauce.

"Demon," Masako repeated slowly. "You're not talking about that pirate hunter Lolonoa Zoro, are you?"

"Yup, that's the one," Ruffy happily answered and stuffed pie into her mouth. Realizing how hot it was she squeaked and reached for the can of water on the table, downing all of it.

Masako stood up. "Ruffy-san, why would you seek out such a dangerous man? You are a nice girl so you should stay away from people like him. Moreover; stay away from the marine base if you don't want to be killed."

"Why is that?" Coby asked, immediately alerted.

"None can do," Ruffy said, blowing on the pie before putting it in her mouth this time. "Coby wants to join the marines, so I'll take him there and find Zoro while I'm at it."

Masako was speechless, shocked halfway to the point of being petrified. Her husband and staff was now hiding in the kitchen and watched like frightened bunnies. Ruffy finished the food and patted her stomach.

"Oh, that was good food. Thank you, Masako-baasan. We'll be going now."

"Wait!"

"Hm?"

The elderly woman stood trembling and gritted her teeth. "You're not serious, are you? Are you really about to walk straight into the base?"

"Yup," Ruffy said with a confident smile, continued to walk and was gone before Masako could find her voice again to give the young pair the real reason as to why they should stay away from the marine base.

Coby followed the girl and fell in beside her.

"Ruffy-san, this is strange. I understand the people here are worried about Zoro, but saying that going to the base will have us killed! It makes me really worried…"

"Maybe Masako-baasan dislikes the marines?" Ruffy suggested.

"Of course not. Normal citizens don't dislike the marines."

"They do," Ruffy countered.

They entered the market road and headed for the base towering over the city.

Coby continued his pleading. "Ruffy-san, please don't be reckless when we get there. I read on a sign at the port that the marine base here is run by a Commodore Morgan and…"

Just like yesterday, everybody within hearing range cried out and jumped away.

Ruffy couldn't stop laughing. "This is such a funny town," she managed to say after a while.

"I'm not laughing," Coby mumbled grimly. "Now I'm really worried."

"Grow a backbone."

* * *

The marine base was a blue-green building with black tiger stripes. Ruffy thought of a pair of striped volcanoes when she saw it. The colouring was the same as marine battleships though.

"Looks pretty big up close, huh?" she said. "Get going, Coby. You wanted to join, right."

"Yes," Coby sobbed and dried his eyes. "I'm finally here. I can't believe it."

Ruffy looked at the brick wall surrounding the base as Coby dwelled in his tearful state, probably remembering his life and everything that had taken him to this place.

"It was only a short time. Make sure you become a great pirate…" Coby looked up, not finding the one he'd addressed beside him, but rather where she shouldn't be. "Ruffy-san! What are you doing!?"

"I'm looking for the demon," the girl answered from where she had climbed the wall to take a look.

"You won't find him like that," Coby sighed. "A captive like Zoro is surely kept in a prison cell or something."

"No. There's someone there. It could be the guy."

"What?"

With a mix of curiosity and worry Coby followed Ruffy down the wall and climbed it beside her, with much less ease.

"Over there," Ruffy said and pointed.

Coby almost swallowed his tongue. Tied to a pole was a man with his head covered by a black bandana and a haramaki around his abdomen. The ropes tied his arms and body tightly to the pole and his legs were uselessly spread out in front of him.

Ruffy caught Coby by the neck when he was about to fall down on his head.

"It's him!" the boy whimpered. "A black bandana, a haramaki, such a dangerous aura. I'm sure. That's the pirate hunter Lolonoa Zoro."

"So that is him. Should be easy enough to get him out of that."

"Ruffy-san, you're crazy!"

A deep, raspy voice carried over to the duo. "Hey, you over there."

Ruffy held onto Coby's neck to ensure he wouldn't fall when he tried to jump away from the wall.

"Will you come over here… and untie me? I've been here for nine days now. I'm getting exhausted."

Ruffy tried to move higher up to get a better view and Coby desperately tried to pull her back down.

"I can pay you," the man continued. "I'll cut down some fugitive and give you the reward. I'm not lying. I keep my words."

"Ruffy-san, no! Once you free him he'll put the town in ruins and kill you."

"He can't kill me," Ruffy said confidently. "I am strong too."

The prisoner glared at them. "Well?"

Even if Coby had promised himself to not let Ruffy win this one, he now felt how he was losing again. Would he ever be able to win against this hopelessly reckless girl? What was wrong with her anyway?

A ladder landed on the wall on Coby's other side. Surprised he turned to look and found a small girl climb it while clutching a small package to her chest. She earnestly hushed at Coby and Ruffy before she carefully checked the area on the other side of the wall. Only when she threw a rope over the wall to the other side and climbed down did Coby realize where she was going and panicked.

"O-o-o-oi! That's dangerous! What are you doing? Come back! Ruffy-san, stop her! She'll be killed!"

"We'll all die eventually," she answered and held Coby up as he almost fainted.

On the execution site the little girl opened her package. "Here," she said happily to Zoro and held up her present. "I made onigiri for you. You must be hungry."

Coby regained full consciousness. Ruffy wouldn't help that girl, but she was a pirate. Coby wasn't a marine or anything yet, but he couldn't just leave the girl to her fate. Good thing Zoro was tied. Their voices carried over to Coby and Ruffy quite well too.

"You want to die, chibi. Get lost," Zoro snarled tiredly.

"But you haven't eaten for all this time. It's my first time making onigiri, but I did my very best. Please eat."

Coby was too engrossed with what he saw to notice Ruffy move her head to the side, as if she tried to hear something.

"Someone's coming," she mumbled to Coby.

"What?"

"I'm not hungry." Zoro grunted at the child before him. "Go home."

"But…"

"I said I don't want it! Go away! Want me to kick you?"

"Lolonoa Zoro, don't be a bully. I'll tell daddy."

Coby's head whipped around in search for the owner of the new voice. It came from the gate between the execution site and the base and three people was walking towards Zoro and the little girl. Coby sighed with relief as the people coming through it were marine soldiers, led by a young blond man in a purple suit.

"Thank goodness. Now the girl will be safe."

"I'm not so sure," Ruffy said.

Zoro made a face. "Tsk. Here comes daddy's dumb boy."

"Dumb?" the blond man in the purple suit stressed with a frown of displeasure. "Watch your tongue, Lolonoa. My daddy is Marine Commodore Morgan." He caught sight of the onigiri and girl who tried to make herself as small as possible. "Hey girl, that looks tasty," he said and took one.

"No!" the little girl protested.

The man took one bite, and immediately spat it out. "What the…? It's sweet! You had sugar in them? You little idiot! Onigiri must be salty. Salty!"

Coby could see the little girl's mouth moving, but couldn't hear what she said.

"This crap isn't even edible!" The blond man yelled and threw the balls on the ground and stomped them into the dirt. "Take this, and this, and this!"

"No! Stop it! Stop!"

Coby watched with disbelieving horror. "That's so mean. Aren't those men marine soldiers? How can they do such a thing?"

On the field the little girl started sobbing over her ruined onigiri.

"There she goes. I hate little kids," the blond man scoffed with annoyance. "Can't you read yet, gaki? This sign here says that anyone who helps this prisoner will be charged with the same crime, signed Marine _Commodore Morgan_."

The girl flinched visibly.

"Heh, even a kid like you know how dangerous my daddy is, right?" the blond man continued. "You're lucky to be a kid, Had you been an adult you would have been killed." He waved a hand at one of the soldiers at his flanks. "Toss her out."

"Eh?"

The blond grabbed the soldier by his tie. "I told you to throw the brat out over the wall! Are you trying to disobey me?! I'll tell daddy!"

"A… aye sir! Right away."

Ruffy jumped down from the wall and backed away. Coby watched her with confusion and the scene on the other side of the wall with horror. The soldier actually threw the little girl over the wall! What kind of marine…?

Coby realized that Ruffy had been thinking ahead, because she stood ready to catch the girl.

"Ruffy-san, are you alright?"

As Coby ran up to them Ruffy put the younger girl down. She was too shaky to stand up.

"Th-thank you," the girl said once she realized she had been saved.

Ruffy smiled down at her as Coby fussed to make sure the girl was really alright. The pirate girl glanced at the wall surrounding the marine base.

"You two go ahead."

Coby looked up. "Huh? Ruffy-san? What are you going to do?"

"I'll catch up with you. Just go ahead. Act like a gentleman and follow the girl home."

It was two hints. The first was; go away. The second; if you do something to the girl I'll beat you to a pulp. Coby obeyed because of that second hint.

"I'm not a pervert, Ruffy-san," he mumbled miserably as he walked away with the quietly sobbing child.

Ruffy waited by the wall until she couldn't hear voices on the other side anymore. Then she jumped over the wall and walked up to the tied man.

"You still here? If you stand there all day someone will tell his daddy."

"Perhaps," Ruffy answered and took a few steps closer. "I'm looking for people to be pirates with me."

"Pirate? You mean you've given up on life and become a crook? Idiot."

"Yes," Ruffy said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I want to be a pirate. It's preferable."

"Whatever. Are you gonna ask me to join you in exchange of freeing me?"

"I haven't decided yet. Everyone says you're a bad guy, yet letting yourself be publicly humiliated… I wonder what you have to prove."

"Mind your own business. So what if people say I'm evil. I refuse to become a bloody pirate. There's something I want to do. I'll survive without your or anyone's help. That dumb son promised to let me go if I survived here for one month. So I will survive and fulfil my dream."

Ruffy laughed. "Strange guy. I'd use all my energy trying to escape."

"You and I are different. Go look for pirate aspirants elsewhere."

"If you put it that way," the girl said and turned to leave with a wave of her hand.

"Wait a minute."

"What? You want me to leave or not?"

Zoro hesitated only for a second or two before his stomach overpowered his pride and he glanced to the ground. "Could you pick those up for me?"

The onigiri that little girl had made had almost been moulded into the dirt. Without a word Ruffy picked them up and cleaned them from the biggest stones best she could.

"Nine days you said?" she asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"Nothing. Here."

Zoro ate straight from the girl's hand, grimacing and choking, trying to not chew too hard and break a tooth.

"How was it?"

The man swallowed and coughed, feeling how a heavy lump settled in his stomach. "Can you tell that girl…?"

"Hm?"

"It was good. Thanks for the food."

Ruffy smiled softly. "I will." She reached out and wiped a drop of fresh blood off the man's chin. "I really like the sound of your heart."

It was with wonder Zoro watched the girl leave. She was a strange one he could tell. Seemingly harmless though.

"You like the sound of my heart? What was that all about? Oddball."

A pirate? Zoro admitted he didn't know anything about the marine Commodore other than what the dumb son bragged about, but Zoro was quite sure he'd kill that girl and bury her on the spot if he knew about it.

Zoro hoped she was smart enough to not go around telling people she was a pirate.

* * *

Coby was worried, and in his mind for a good reason. This far, since he met Ruffy-san yesterday she had been nothing but reckless. He was certain she enjoyed being crazy. What if she picked a fight with the marines here? Or actually set Zoro free? She'd die! Well, she had defeated Alvida, but this was different. Zoro aside, a pirate crew and a marine troop worked differently. The marine was a trained military force, alive to catch pirates and criminals. What could Ruffy possibly do against that? Lolonoa Zoro looked like he could just as easily wring her neck and rip her head off. Or worse…

"Stop worrying, Coby. A marine shouldn't worry about a pirate."

Coby immediately sprung up at the sound of the pirate girl's voice. "Ruffy-san! You're okay! You're not hurt anywhere?"

"Not hurt. Where's the girl?"

The child had been seated behind Coby and now stood so that Ruffy could see her. "Onee-chan."

"There you are. Coby didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"Eh? No?"

"Please, Ruffy-san. I'm not a pervert."

She gave him a blank look.

"No I'm really not! I've just been unlucky with you!"

"Really? Well, whatever." The girl with the straw hat sat cross-legged on a barrel. "Hey girl, Zoro wanted to say thank you for the onigiri."

"Really?!"

"Yup. He ate every last bit."

The little girl sighed with relief. "I'm so happy."

Coby sat on a stone step with a lowered head, trying to comprehend the situation. Things weren't turning out quite as he had thought they would. He glanced up at Ruffy.

"That Zoro. Is he really as bad as they say?"

"He isn't!" the little girl protested. "He hasn't done anything wrong. It's my fault he was caught."

"Your fault?" Coby gaped but Ruffy just swung her knees up and down.

"Yes," the little girl said unhappily. "It's that Helmeppo, Commodore Morgan's son."

* * *

_His haughty laugher was heard over the screams of the townspeople._

_"Move it! Move it! Make way for my cute pet!"_

_Rika had been playing boll with a friend when she heard the calls._

_Helmeppo strutted down the road in the heels of his pet wolf. It growled and snapped after an old man who hurried inside a house and closed the door._

_Rika turned around to tell her friend to run, and she did, but left the ball rolling. That ball was a present to Rika from her father, so she chased after it._

_But the wolf liked balls too. _

_"Rika!"_

_The wolf jumped at her, mouth wide open, and she screamed._

_A blade was drawn. Rika only saw the flash of silver out of the corner of her eye and heard the pained yelp of the wolf._

_When she looked up the beast fell down dead with a cut wound in the side._

_Helmeppo screamed. "Inugata!"_

_"You should've kept that pet in a leach," a deep voice said._

_Rika realized a man stood in front of her. He turned around and glanced down at her._

_"You hurt?"_

_"Eh?"_

_"Do you hurt anywhere?"_

_"No. Thank you, onii-san."_

_The man flashed her a smirk._

_Her mother ran over to them in panic. "Rika, come on. Hurry up inside."_

* * *

"I don't know what happened after that, but the townspeople said Zoro no nii-chan didn't resist when Helmeppo took him away."

"I see…" Coby said slowly. He recalled the argument he had had with Ruffy-san on the way here.

_"Poor guy. Can't be easy to make friends if everyone is scared of him."_

_"Ruffy-san, he's feared is because he wants to be."_

_"He might be a good guy."_

_"He was caught because he isn't!"_

Coby glanced at Ruffy, but she was looking in another direction.

"Seems like you were right, Ruffy-san."

"Hm?"

She turned her attention to him, so Coby continued. "Sure, Zoro-san is scary, but hunting down fugitives isn't a crime."

"Commodore Morgan and his son are the bad guys," the little girl muttered darkly. "No one can say a word because Morgan executes anyone who dares to talk back. Everybody is really afraid."

"I bet," Ruffy-san said, still looking up the street.

Before Coby could fully progress the question why Ruffy kept turning her head to look at the road a loud voice rang out.

"Heh, heh, heh! Bow your heads. If anyone dares to look up I'll tell daddy."

The commodore's son. One piece of information clicked in Coby's mind. Ruffy had noticed the commodore's son's approach long before he actually showed up. Twice.

"You want to end up like Zoro?" Helmeppo called with a chuckle. "I'll execute him in three days. Look forward to that. It'll be interesting."

"Three days?" Ruffy immediately got down from the barrel and stood in Helmeppo's way. "Hey, didn't you promise him a month?"

"Huh? How rude. Who are you?" He looked her up and down once, finding nothing worth his interest, so he laughed. "That promise was just a joke. It takes a real fool to believe in something like that."

Coby saw it coming, felt the fire, and threw himself after Ruffy, but she was faster. The fire within her roared to life and she sent Helmeppo flying from a blow to his face.

"Ruffy-san, stop it!" Coby caught her from behind. "Calm yourself. They are marines."

"I don't care. Rats are rats whatever you call them."

Helmeppo sat up. He had a swollen red cheek, a bloody nose and a face of shock and disbelief.

"You… you hit me. You hit me! Not even my daddy has ever hit me before."

Ruffy growled and people moved away, fast. As far away from the scene as they could come and still see what happened.

"I am Commodore Morgan's son! I'M GONNA TELL DADDY!"

"Eat crap! You can't pull rank on _me_, you little rat."

"Ruffy-san!"

Coby struggled to hold the girl back, but damn she was strong. Well, he knew that already but still!

"You'll regret this!" Helmeppo cried. "I'll tell daddy and he'll kill you!"

"Do! Tell him to call in the whole bloody fleet and I'll take him on alone!"

"Ruffy-san, please calm down!"

Helmeppo kept screaming as the soldiers took him away.

Ruffy stopped fighting Coby's hold and snorted with contempt as she picked up her fallen straw hat. "That guy's not even worth to hit again."

"Amazing!" The little girl Rika ran up to them, smiling brightly. "Onee-chan, you're so cool. He really deserved that."

"Didn't he. I should have put more power behind that punch."

"I thought it was strange," Coby mumbled. Alvida hadn't gotten up after Ruffy-san's punch, and Coby had a hard time believing that Helmeppo guy was any tougher than the fearsome pirate woman.

"Rika! Come here," a woman ran up to them and pulled the little girl with her. "Don't talk to strangers. You'll die if they think you're friends with them."

"But mom, they're nice. Zoro no nii-chan too."

"Don't speak nonsense! You didn't sneak into the execution site, did you?"

"N… no, I didn't."

"Hurry inside."

Rika looked back over her shoulder with an unhappy face. Ruffy smiled and waved at her.

The situation suddenly dawned on Coby. "Oh no! The marines! We are in so much trouble! What will we do if the marines come after us?"

"Take the hardships as they come," Ruffy said heartlessly. "I'm gonna go see Zoro."

"What?! Why?"

"I just decided I'm gonna make him my nakama."

The girl left Coby crying behind. "Ruffy-san, can't you please consider my feelings? Just a little? Please?"


	4. Morgan vs Ruffy

Me; (fresh from the shower) I thought I wouldn't update this until friday, but I think I've been such a good girl today I might as well keep it up (just today)

Malin; Oh, really. Do tell, what makes you think you've been good today?

Me; I've realized the reason why to never move into an appartment on the third floor or higher if there's no elevator.

Malin; Enlighten me.

Me; Ever carried heavy furniture and boxes up three floors? And we were only two women. I can't feel my arms anymore.

Malin; ... right. By the way, your pizzas are... done...

Me; "burp"

* * *

_**Marine Commodore Axe-arm Morgan VS. Pirate Monkey D. Ruffy**_

The execution site was hot, unprotected from the sun. Ruffy jumped down from the wall and stood in front of the tied up bounty hunter, looking closely at his grim face.

"Sleeping, huh."

She sat on her heels, wrapped her arms around her knees and put her head down. With a sigh she relaxed and listened.

Clashing bamboo swords. Frustration. The feeling of being weak.

_"You're weak as usual, Zoro."_

Hurt pride.

A promise.

Anguish.

Zoro awoke with a gasp. At first he couldn't see properly, or remember where he was, but soon enough he realized his position and released a breath.

Below him sat that strange girl with a straw hat that had tried to recruit him earlier, apparently sleeping. Zoro blinked a few times.

"Oi! What are you doing here? You want to die?"

She opened an eye and glanced up at him. Zoro hadn't noticed before, but her eyes had a rare golden-brown colour. That wound under the band aid must be recent too because the eye above it was a little redder than the other.

"You're weak as usual, Zoro."

His heart almost stopped.

The girl continued calmly. "I don't know if you are, but those words echo in your heart." She stood up and smiled brightly. "I'm Ruffy. Will you join my pirate crew if I untie you?"

"Haaa?" Talk about turning the pages. "Didn't you hear me before? No means no. I've got my own dream. I won't waste myself away as a criminal."

"Tell me the difference. Everybody is afraid of you, so you have about the same reputation as a pirate."

"So what? I don't care what people say about me. I haven't done anything I regret, and I won't do anything regrettable after this either. So I refuse to be a pirate."

"Ah, that must be good," the girl said, smiling wistfully. "Living without regrets. That would be really nice." The pain made way for stubbornness on her face and she decisively crossed her arms. "But I already decided you're my nakama."

"You can't decide that!"

Zoro growled, then happened to glance down to the katana this girl had at her side. It looked like a good sword, but this girl didn't have the eyes of a swordsman.

"Can you use that katana?" he asked.

"Not at all," she replied happily.

"That's nothing to be proud of!"

"But you can?" Ruffy tilted her head to the side. "I heard you use swords."

"Un, if I'm not tied to anything."

"You have swords?"

"I use katana, but that dumb son took them. Bastard. Those katana are more important than my life."

That had the girl reacting. She actually jumped. "That's horrible! Your treasure!"

Zoro watched as the girl sent a hot glare at the marine building. She snorted and crossed her arms over her chest again.

"Fine. I'll go fetch your katana."

"What?"

Ruffy grinned widely. "But if you want them back you have to join my crew," she sang.

"That's dirty you bloody black-mailer! Hey? Wait, where are you going?"

The girl halted and came back. "You're right. I can't just leave you here," she said and took out the katana from her belt. The hilt was tied to the sheath, Zoro noticed. Strange. Even if the girl told the truth and she couldn't use the katana, it shouldn't be a reason to seal it like that.

Working with the binds for a while, Ruffy at last managed to untie the sword and release it. The blade flashed in the sunlight. It sang in Zoro's ears. He had never seen such a beautiful blade.

Ruffy placed the sheath in front of Zoro's feet, walked back a few steps and stuck the sword in the ground, edge away from the man at the pole.

"Yosh. Shodai, I leave Zoro in your care. Protect him from any outer harm, okay."

The sword flashed.

"There. Now nothing will happen to you while I'm gone, Zoro. It'll only take a minute."

Said man was too stunned to answer. That strange girl had said she couldn't use a sword and here she goes off ordering one she stuck in the ground to protect him?! Was she an idiot or just crazy? A sword alone can't protect anything! If a sword could act without a wielder it would be dangerous for the sword users. To top it off…

"O… oi! Where do you think…?" But the girl was already gone. "Idiot! Does she intend to sneak into the base alone? Empty-handed? She really must be crazy."

* * *

Ruffy ran one leap around the marine base and found no one. Not a single person. Not even a chore boy.

"How strange. If nobody is here, how am I supposed to find that dumb son and Zoro's katana?"

She walked around a bit more, tilting her head from side to side and tried to hear a heart nearby, other than Zoro's.

It took a minute before she heard them. From above.

"Up there?"

The building was quite high, but didn't look very smooth. Now that she had finally found where they were she could tell there were a lot of people on the roof. Listening closer she also found a heart haughtier than that stupid son. But haughty didn't mean strong.

"Yosh. I'm going up."

She took off the sandals Masako had given her, prepared herself and then started running as fast as she could up the wall of the marine base. It wasn't smooth at all. Ruffy's hard nails easily caught all the little holes and carried her upwards. Up, up and up.

Some strange white rock came in her way at the roof top.

"Perfect," Ruffy exclaimed and grabbed it, thinking the round end of the rock was solid enough to land on. But as soon as her feet landed heavily on the white stone it broke under her weight.

The girl screamed from surprise and fright. It was a long fall and she didn't feel like climbing the wall again now that she was finally up. So she grabbed the edge of the stone… and continued to fall!

"No waaaayyy!"

Working fast Ruffy pulled herself up and ran along the white stone until she reached the floor of the roof. This didn't break under her weight and she sighed with relief.

In front of her stood a large group of men, marine soldiers, gaping and pointing at her with shocked expressions. A man bigger than the others with a steel jaw was even in tears. What was funnier about him was his right arm. It was an axe!

Confused about the attention, Ruffy turned to take a better look at the white stone. It looked like a foot… and a leg…

"Oh. That was a statue. No wonder it broke…" she looked back at the still stunned men. "Ah… I'm sorry."

The steel jaw/axe-arm man exploded. "Take her! Catch her! Bring her to me! She must die! I'm gonna kill her!"

"A-aye, sir!"

"Daddy! That's her! She's the one who hit me! I told you she was a bad guy!"

Ruffy had just started towards the door leading into the base when she heard that familiar voice and turned around. The stupid son stood right in front of her and she smiled at him.

"There you are. Good thing I found you. Come with me a sec."

She pulled him along in the collar of his cloths as he screamed his head off, marine soldiers taking up the chase calling the boy's name.

* * *

Coby ran though the town towards the marine base. He had intended to wait until Ruffy came back, but he had grown so nervous he just couldn't wait anymore.

Something was definitely wrong with this marine base. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Marines were supposed to be good, strong people who only went after the bad guys and helped innocent citizens. Like the ones he had met as a kid.

* * *

_Five-year old Coby stared, still in tears and yet amazed as white clad soldiers effectively fought the pirates that had held the city captive for the last week. They were led by a man with smoky white hair. _

_A soldier ran up to him._

_"Boy, this is dangerous. Please hide."_

_Coby hurried to obey and dived into nearest shelter; a bush, from where he could still see the battle._

_He was scared. The gunshots meant that people were dying. His parents had been killed by gunshots._

_A sudden explosion nearby set the bush he was hiding in on fire. Screaming he ran out, straight into the battlefield._

_"Someone take that boy away!"_

_"I'll do it!"_

_Coby was lifted into the air, screaming, and pressed into a man's chest. Explosion followed explosion and all the little boy could do was cling onto the person carrying him. _

_At last, the sounds from the battle grew distant._

_"There, there," hushed the soldier and patted the boy's head. "You're a man, aren't you? Don't cry."_

_"M-mama," Coby cried. "Mama…"_

_The gentle arms stilled._

_"They killed them," the little boy continued. "They killed mama and papa."_

_"I'm sorry," the man said. "I'm sorry we couldn't come earlier. Don't worry. I'll make sure you're taken care of before I leave."_

* * *

Coby swallowed. Ever since then he had wanted to be a marine, one who was strong enough to fight pirates and gentle enough to help little children who had lost their parents.

The wall came into sight, but the gate was closed. Coby made a left turn and ran down the wall to the place where he and Ruffy-san had climbed over it earlier. But glancing over the edge he couldn't see Ruffy-san anywhere, and Zoro-san was still tied to the pole, with a sword struck into the ground in front of him.

Now Coby was really worried. Ruffy-san had said she was going to see Zoro, but she wasn't here, yet that sword looked like Ruffy-san's so she must have been here. Something must have happened.

He jumped down from the wall and ran over the site towards the tied man, passing the katana in the ground.

"Another one? I get a lot of them today."

"Where's Ruffy-san?" Coby asked and tried to not be frightened of the bounty hunter's expression.

"You mean that girl with the straw hat? Idiot went into the base."

"What?! Into the base!?" At first Coby couldn't believe it, but then realized it was just what Ruffy-san would do. "Ruffy-san, you're too reckless."

"You can say that again. Who is she anyway?"

Coby opened his mouth, but he didn't know how to answer that question. Something he did know was that this; tying someone to a pole and beating them every day, was not a way to treat another human being. Zoro-san was honourable. More than honourable if he was willing to protect the innocent and let himself be punished for it.

"Oi. What are you doing? You'll be killed if you help me," Zoro growled when the younger boy started to work on the ropes that tied him to the pole.

"They have no right to treat you like this," Coby said firmly. "This is wrong. I'm going to be a good and worthy marine. Just like Ruffy-san will be king of the pirates."

"Ki… king of the pirates?! That _girl_?!"

For some reason, Coby couldn't help but laugh a bit, oddly enough feeling quite calm. "I know right. I was shocked too, but she's really serious. That's just the way she is."

The sound of the gunshot reached the two men at the same time as the bullet that hit Coby in the shoulder. He blacked out.

Zoro glared in the direction from where the bullet had come. These marines were really getting on his nerves. Letting mad dogs run wild in the town where they could hurt the children. Acting all high and mighty. They were not a hair better than pirates in Zoro's book.

* * *

Ruffy ran through the corridors of the marine base, pulling the crying wuss of a Commodore's son along. She was chased by a small group of soldiers with their guns lifted, but they didn't dare to fire them. Who knew what would happen if they hurt Helmeppo-sama.

"Where are Zoro's katana?" Ruffy asked her captive, voice even despite the fact she was running.

"I'll tell. I'll tell you. Just stop pulling meee," the boy cried.

Ruffy set her heel into the floor and stopped. "There, I've stopped. Now spill."

At first the boy only gasped and whined, but a good punch to his head and the silent threat of another one convinced him to talk.

"Th-they are in my room. We-we already passed it long 'go."

"Say that earlier, you fool!" Ruffy hissed and hit Helmeppo again.

"Stop hitting meee."

"You there!" The soldiers had caught up with them and positioned themselves in two lines with the guns ready. "Release Helmeppo-sama and raise your hands above your head."

"Like hell," the girl said and lifted the boy up in front of her.

"Eh?"

Ruffy started running again, holding the boy's body like a human shield. "Just shoot if you dare."

Helmeppo realised his position. "NOOOO! Don't shoot! Don't shoot! I'll die if you shoot! Aaaahhhh!"

* * *

"Aaaahhhh! I've been shot! Blood! I'm bleeding! I'm gonna diiiieee!" Coby cried.

Zoro let out a breath of relief. "You're okay." The little boy's voice was too strong for him not to be. Zoro looked back over his shoulder. The soldiers weren't on the roof anymore, which could only mean one thing. "Hurry up and leave. They're coming down."

"No, I can't. I must free you first."

'Oh, for the love of...!' Zoro thought, almost rolling his eyes. "Don't worry about me. They'll let me go after one month. Get go…!"

"They won't release you! You'll be executed in three days!"

"W-what? But that dumb son promised to release me if I survived for a month."

Coby found his glasses and struggled to stand. "He never intended to keep that promise. That's why Ruffy got so mad and hit him. He was making fun of your believing in that promise."

In that moment Zoro felt how something inside of him froze, and something else warmed. It was almost too much information at once. "What… did you say?" he asked hesitatingly.

Coby panted hard. His shoulder hurt and he was at a loss of what else to do but believe in Ruffy. There was no other option. But she wouldn't be able to fight the marines all alone. She _needed_ help. But Coby couldn't help, not in any way.

But Zoro could.

"The marines are already your enemy. Please, after I've untied you, you must help Ruffy-san."

_"Is he relly strong?"_

Coby gritted his teeth. Ruffy-san had asked that when Coby told her the rumours about the fearsome pirate hunter.

_"He might be a good guy."_

"Ruffy-san was right. She was right about everything," he mumbled as much to himself as to Zoro. "About you, about these marines. Sorry, I'm not asking you to become a pirate, but she saved my life. Ruffy-san is really strong, I know that. If you two join forces I know you can escape this island. So please, after I've freed you; take her and run quickly."

"Hold it right there!"

Both Coby and Zoro's hearts skipped a beat. Marine soldiers flooded the site and took their positions, standing in two lines with the guns ready to fire. Commodore Morgan was right behind them.

"You are an interesting lot. Did the two of you and that straw hat girl intend to start a coup against me?"

Zoro growled. 'I can't die here!'

"Lolonoa Zoro," the commodore continued warily. "I've heard the rumours. You have become quite the name in this sea. But don't fool yourself. In the face of my power, your strength is equalled to zero. Take aim!"

_"You're weak as usual, Zoro."_

'I can't die like this!'

* * *

The door was adorned with a pretty flower wreath around a sign saying; "My room". The room itself was decorated in white, silver and yellow with cute pink curtains.

Ruffy almost had the urge to check if it really was a man she was still holding onto. He had definitely pointed out this room, but it had to be the most girlish one she had ever seen belong to a male.

"Where are the katana?" she asked, but realized her burden had passed out, so she dropped him.

Looking around she found an armour chest on the wall over some old-fashioned swords. Underneath it stood three katana, one white and two black.

"Three swords? Which one of them is Zoro's?"

Ruffy spun around when she suddenly heard Coby and Zoro's hearts call out. She ran over to the window to check. On the execution site she could see Zoro and Coby and a whole bunch of marine soldiers aiming their guns at them.

"I trust you, Shodai," Ruffy said and ran back to the swords, taking all of them. They didn't all fit into her belt, but there was a rope hanging from the roof, perfect for the purpose. So the girl ripped it down, not hearing the loud ringing sound it caused.

"Don't worry, Coby," she mumbled. "I'm coming."

* * *

"Fire!"

The guns went off.

Zoro and Coby both closed their eyes.

A sword sang.

Coby had fallen into a shaking heap on the ground and was keeping his hands up, waiting for the inevitable death that didn't come. Zoro was staring at a line in the ground and followed it to the sword that crazy girl had left behind. It had sung. Zoro knew the sound of a sword when he heard it.

_"Yosh. Shodai, I leave Zoro in your care. Protect him from any outer harm, okay."_

It did? This sword was really acting on its own? It was unheard of. Stupid! A sword shouldn't be able to do that!

"What are you waiting for? Fire!"

The guns went off again. The sword sang and this time Zoro saw what happened. It was a flying cut. A cut that changed the direction of the bullets. Where in the world had that Ruffy girl gotten a hold of such a sword?

The strangeness continued when a whistle, like a bird's, echoed through the air and Ruffy came flying from above. She landed softly between Zoro and the marines and smiled at the sword in the ground.

"Good job, Shodai. I knew I could trust you."

Just like when this girl had ordered the sword to protect Zoro it flashed, like it could actually hear the words and answer to them.

Coby, realizing he was still alive, blinked rapidly, still shaking. "Sho… Shodai? Ruffy-san, what…?"

The girl picked up the sheath from the ground and smiled. "I asked Shodai to protect Zoro while I was gone. But I'm back now."

She took the katana, sheathed it and retied the bounds before she put it in her belt.

"Who the hell are you?" Zoro demanded.

"I am Monkey D. Ruffy," the girl said with a grin. "The one who will become the king of pirates." Ignoring the impact her words had on the swordsman she freed the three katana she had tied to her back and held them up. "Here, I found your treasure. I couldn't tell which one was yours, so I took them all."

"They are all mine," Zoro said and wiggled against his binds. "I fight using santouryuu. A technique using three swords."

"Aha."

Ruffy turned towards the fallen marine soldiers and grinned at them, clicking with her tongue twice. Zoro had been focused on the girl and only now realized that they weren't being shot at anymore. Just what had this girl done?

"If you fight against these people, you'll become an outlaw like me," Ruffy stated calmly. "Or you will be executed here. What do you want?"

Damn. This girl really knew how to play her cards.

"You're the devil's offspring," Zoro stated with a smirk, making the girl's grin broader. "Whatever. If the option is to die, I rather live, even as a pirate."

"Really? Yatta! You'll really join me!"

"Yes I will! Stop dancing around and untie me!"

On the other side of the site Morgan was trembling with anger. When that weird whistle sounded his subordinates had all dropped to their knees.

"What are you doing, you fools?"

"That sound," one of the men answered. "It pierced me and I couldn't pull the trigger anymore."

"The whistle?" Growling Morgan focused on the straw hat girl. "That girl. She can't be an ordinary human. She must have eaten one of the rumoured devil fruits."

"Devil…?"

"The secret treasure of the sea?"

"So… that sound came from the devil himself?"

Morgan glared at the girl with the straw hat. Skinny little bitch. "These fruits. Rumour has it they give the one who eats them inhuman power."

"Co-Commodore! She is untying Lolonoa's ropes!"

"Don't let her! If you can't shoot then use your swords. Cut them all to pieces!"

Coby jumped when he saw the soldiers getting up and taking out swords. "Ruffy-san hurry! The marines are coming!"

"This knot is hard," the girl pouted.

"Use the sword, dammit!" Zoro yelled.

"Stop screaming. I told you I can't."

"Then use mine! We don't have time to wait for you to…"

"Look! It loosened," Ruffy said with triumph and held up the rope's edge.

"GIMME MY SWORDS FOR HELL'S SAKE!"

The marines aimed for Ruffy, but the sound of clashing metal and the sudden resistance had them all stop in their tracks before they hit their target. It was with dread they looked for the reason.

Lolonoa Zoro was free from the pole.

"Don't you move, or I'll slice you all up."

The marines shivered from fright. The rumour of Zoro being a bloodthirsty hound wasn't something he had made up for himself. His rough voice and predator eyes could make even the bravest of soldiers think twice.

Coby's knees gave in under him. Death had come too close to him for his taste this time; twice in as many minutes.

Zoro locked his hard, dark-green eyes on Ruffy's watching brown ones. "I'll be a pirate with you, I promise you that. Opposing the marines today will make me a wanted man anyway. But I'll tell you this right away; I fight only for my own sake and for my own ambitions. I'm going to be the world's greatest swordsman! Admired or infamous doesn't matter as long as my name echoes throughout the world! You're the one who have recruited me. If you do one thing that stands in the way of my ambition, harakiri will be your only way to apologize."

Ruffy smiled with a strong glow as of fire in her eyes. "Sounds good. The world's greatest swordsman is the least you can ask of a nakama to the king of pirates."

Zoro grinned back. "Well said."

"What are you all standing there for?!" Morgan roared. "Execute them all this instant!"

"A-aye!"

The marines raised their swords to attack again. Zoro turned around to meet them and Ruffy started whistling.

Lolonoa Zoro watched with surprise as the marine soldiers backed away, fear evident in their eyes. He turned to see his new captain whistle through her teeth; a strange sort of whistle that sounded like it came from a bird; many short chirps in a row. In between she clapped with her teeth too. The soldiers backed farther and farther away until they at last dropped to the ground.

Ruffy smirked. "Thought so." She looked over at Coby who still stood unaffected. She smiled brightly at him.

"What did you do?" Zoro asked.

"They have no fighting spirit. It's useless to fight them." Ruffy stated instead, as if it was obvious.

"Fighting spirit?"

Ruffy nodded and watched Commodore Morgan make his way over the site, past his subordinates.

"All of you," he snarled, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Every last one of you. This is an order. Pick up your guns and shoot yourselves in the head! I don't need weaklings in my base!"

The soldiers looked at each other. Morgan stood over them, glaring down the length of his nose. There was no mercy in his eyes, only a cold, impenetrable wall of anger and hatred.

The marine soldiers picked up their guns and aimed for their own heads, all of them trembling and some even cried. They would do it, because if they didn't do it themselves, Morgan would repay their cowardice with torture to the death. A bullet through the brain would at least be quick and painless.

Zoro growled and prepared to charge. "This base is sick!"

"Ruffy-san!?"

The girl was a fast runner Zoro noted. She closed the distance between her and the Commodore within seconds.

"I am your enemy!" she cried out heatedly. "Kill me if you can!"

Zoro relaxed. The marines lowered their weapons and looked up when the young girl's fist connected with their Commodore's axe arm with a loud bang.

"Ruffy-san! Crush this screwed up marine base!" Coby cheered angrily, pumping his fists into the air.

Morgan threw his coat off. "I will show you. A civil lowlife like you with no rank doesn't even have the right to speak to me! I am Marine Commodore Axe-arm Morgan!"

"I am Rayla," the girl answered and bowed her head slightly. "Yoroshiku."

Morgan attacked. "Go to hell!" His axe arm swung out, and though Ruffy jumped over it, the cutting edge split an iron fence.

"Oh no," Coby choked. "If Ruffy-san is hit by that…"

Morgan looked up. Ruffy, still in the air, greeted his face with her feet, making him stagger backwards.

The man growled. "You little rat."

Ruffy charged again. Morgan raised his axe.

"Death penalty!"

Once again the girl dodged "I don't think so," and landed a kick to the side of his face. This time Axe-arm Morgan was sent flying.

Zoro just watched. There was something strange in the way the girl moved, but he couldn't put his finger on it. For such a skinny girl to kick around a man three times her size was pretty impressive though. But she couldn't hit with her right fist anymore. Striking the axe had hurt her more than she let on, but Zoro could see the blood.

Growling to herself, completely ignoring the throbbing pain of her hand and that on her foot that would most likely become a bruise, Ruffy walked up to the fallen Commodore and grabbed his collar.

"Even if I always opposed the marines, at least I didn't ruin someone else's dream!"

She raised her fist…

"Hold it!"

…and brought it down full force, landing the punch on the Commodore's iron jaw.

"I said hold it, you idiot! Didn't you hear me? I have a hostage here!"

Coby glanced sideways. He had been a slave to a pirate crew for two years so he knew when a gun was aimed at him. But it didn't feel quite as it had done in the past. The voice of the one holding the gun was shaking. That was probably why he didn't collapse from fear he reasoned with himself later on.

Helmeppo was shaking from head to toe when the straw hat girl looked up at him. Zoro turned around and glared too.

"Don't move, i-if you va-value this guy's life," the Commodore's son squeaked. "If you mo-mo-move a single muscle I-I-I will shoot his head off."

"Ruffy-san!" Coby called out. His voice was a little shaky, but not nearly as frightened as the one aiming a gun to his head. "I… I don't want to be in your way. Even if… even if I die!"

Ruffy giggled. She didn't need to listen to the heartbeats to know what was going on. "I know, Coby. Don't worry."

She stepped over the man she had just beaten down.

Helmeppo panicked. "I said don't move! Don't move! I'll shoot. I really will! Stop! Stop right there!"

"Give it up, dumb son. Coby knows what he's up against."

Even before Coby's warning Ruffy knew the Commodore was back on his feet. She hadn't beaten him down all the way, but there was something she wanted to make sure of.

"I am Marine Commodore, Axe-arm Morgan!"

"Daddy! Kill her quickly!" Helmeppo cried.

Ruffy smirked and didn't move. The gust of wind that hit her face was proof enough she didn't have to.

The large man with an axe instead of a right arm slowly fell backwards and landed with a crash, cut down.

Ruffy glanced over her shoulder. "Nice one, Zoro."

He smirked back at her. "My pleasure, captain."

Happiness. That was the strongest of the emotions Ruffy felt rushing through her at that moment, right along with accomplishment. She had gained a nakama and had become captain. It felt like she was already halfway to her dream. There was only one thing left to do right at that moment.

Helmeppo stood there, face to face with a golden-eyed girl over a short distance. He hadn't pulled the trigger. Behind the girl his father lay motionless on the ground with blood seeping out from a wound in his side. There also stood Lolonoa Zoro, the fearsome pirate hunter he had tied to a pole, spit at and taunted for nine days.

"It's just you and me now," said the girl with the straw hat and cracked her knuckles.

He dropped the gun, but his legs wouldn't obey his silent screams to run.

Ruffy breathed in and gave a loud, sharp whistle, like an arrow. Helmeppo screamed, and then he fainted.

* * *

A/N The next chapter is rather short, so I'll most probably update early :)


	5. Goodbye to Coby

Me; It's april (looks out) with snow.

Malin; (looks at my garden) and a lot of work picking out weeds and dead flowers.

Me; yes, I know (sigh).

Important information for the continuation of this story. I assume we all know how about the original Luffy's past and how many people was important to him when growing up. Ruffy's past have those plus three people who saved her life. The names of those three people will be mentioned now and then and I'll intorduce them propely later.

Now on with the story and don't forget to review. This chapter is short, and so is the next one, so it'll probably be another early update.

* * *

_**Pirates Ruffy and Zoro bids goodbye to Coby**_

The day was sunny with a few clouds scattered around the sky, not any different from many other days that had been and was to come. At least not for most people in the East Blue. However, there was one island in this sea, the marine base and the commodore there had for many years ruled the island and its people with a rod of iron . Today that rule had ended by the hands of an upcoming pirate woman and a bounty hunter.

The marine soldiers still standing stared at their fallen commodore with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Commodore Morgan…"

The pirate hunter Zoro sheathed his swords and glanced sideways at the marines. "Anyone else that wants to arrest us?" he asked darkly.

The marines looked at each other, their eyes questioning what they had just seen.

Ruffy cracked her knuckles. "I can take you all out here and now if you want."

Surprisingly enough, at those words the soldiers seemed to realize their commodore had really fallen.

"Horraaaay! We're free!"

"Morgan is defeated! Long live the marines!"

Zoro blinked. Ruffy had said the marines here didn't have any fighting spirit, but this wasn't quite the response he had expected.

"I see. Everyone was just afraid of Morgan," Coby said, his voice full of relief.

"Hm," Ruffy smiled. Then suddenly she spun around. "Zoro!"

Coby turned too only to see the swordsman heavily hit the ground.

"Zoro-san!?"

Ruffy and Coby ran up to check on him and for a second the marines stopped their celebration, that's why everybody heard the loud growl from Zoro's stomach.

"Oh," Ruffy said, hitting her palm. "He hasn't eaten anything for nine days. Of course he's hungry."

Coby sighed with relief. The marines too. The lieutenant took command. There was a lot of work to do now, even ignoring all the paperwork that had to be done afterwards. They carried Morgan away to the prison hold and Helmeppo, since he wasn't officially a marine, was put under supervision to start pay off his debt to the marines and the people by working his ass off. Ruffy carried the half conscious Zoro on her back towards the town, followed by some of the soldiers.

"Don't worry," a solider reassured when he noticed Ruffy looking at them. "We just have to announce to the people that Morgan isn't in command anymore." He glanced at all three of them and noticed Coby's wound. "But boy, your shoulder. Come with me, we'll get you patched up."

"Ah, but…" Coby hesitantly turned to his friend.

"We'll go to town and see if we can find someplace to eat," Ruffy told him. "We'll be where you can hear a wild beast eating."

* * *

The news spread like a wildfire, and the futher down the main street Ruffy walked the more smiling and joyously crying people surrounded her.

"Ruffy-san!"

"Ah, Masako-baasan. I found Zoro."

The old woman, her husband and staff all gaped.

"I… I see that. Ruffy-san, the marines say that Morgan was defeated! Did you…?"

"He was being an ass," Ruffy huffed. "Where can we eat?"

"Eh? Eat?"

"We're starving."

To prove it, Ruffy's stomach growled loudly, shortly followed by an even louder groan from Zoro's empty insides.

Toya, Masako's husband walked up to them. "The restaurant is down here…"

"Really? Thanks. I'm going."

Ruffy followed the direction of the man's finger first, then her nose and soon found the restaurant. Surprisingly enough it turned out to be where the little girl Rika lived. They hadn't noticed earlier because they had been behind the building. Rika's family apparently owned the restaurant.

"Onee-chan! Zoro no nii-chan!"

"Hi. Give us food. We're really hungry."

Rika's mother stared at them. Of course she had already heard that Morgan and Helmeppo no longer ruled the town, and that their saviours were Lolonoa Zoro and a girl with a straw hat. These people. The straw hat girl put Zoro down on a chair and turned to the woman.

"Food?"

"Oh. Right away! Just a moment please. Rika, come and help me."

* * *

After being patched up by a doctor, Coby ran into town to find his friends. Ruffy-san had told him to listen to a wild beast eating, and as he followed the pointing fingers of people he realized what she meant. The sounds of chewing and swallowing could be heard all the way out to the street from the restaurant.

He had to push himself past all the people crowded outside that wanted to take a look at the heroes.

"Ruffy-san. Zoro-san."

"Oh, Coby. Here, this is really good."

"Eh?" Coby glanced at the woman behind the counter. She smiled at him.

"Ruffy-san invited you. Please eat a lot."

"Th-thank you."

All three of them ate for almost an hour before Zoro finally leaned back and patted his belly.

"Aaahh, that was good. Definitely worth those nine days without food. I thought I was going to starve there."

"How'd you think to last a month if only nine days had you collapsing?" Ruffy asked, honestly curious as she continued to shove fish into her mouth.

Zoro growled. "What about you? You're half the size of me and you eat twice as much?"

"I've been starving for a long time too," she defended herself and moved her plate away, just in case Zoro tried to take it. "This is only my second decent meal in years, you know."

The swordsman gave her a blank look and decided he didn't want to know what she meant.

The little girl Rika served them more food with stars still shining in her eyes. "Onee-chan, you are really amazing."

"I am, right," Ruffy grinned brightly. "And I'll just get better. I'm going to be the king of pirates." She turned and smiled at Zoro. "Right?"

"Sure. So where is the rest of your crew?"

"You."

"Yes, and…?"

Ruffy looked at him. "You. Someone has to be the first crewmember. That's you."

"Aha…" Zoro said drily. "So where are we headed?"

The girl grinned widely, the fire in her eyes alight. "To the Grand Line of course."

Coby choked on the juice he had just been drinking. "What?! Ruffy-san, even if you have no sense of planning ahead, even you must realize that going to the Grand Line with only two people is equal to suicide!"

"We're strong," Ruffy assured, still smiling. "I'm sure we'll make it."

"That's not it! Zoro-san, do you know how to navigate?"

"If you mean how to steer a boat, yes."

Poor Coby almost crumbled. "Ruffy-saaaan! This isn't a joke. Grand Line is also known as the Pirate Graveyard! It's a battlefield! All the strongest pirates in the world are rampaging there. You just can't go in there before you at least have a navigator."

"Oh yeah," Ruffy hit her palm. "The log pose I got from Sun broke. I need a new one. I can find a navigator at the same time." With that statement she left both Coby and Zoro far behind in understanding. Not that she noticed as she continued. "But One Piece is somewhere in the Grand Line, so I have to go there to find it."

"Well, I guess that's all there is to it."

Coby angrily spun around . "Zoro-san, not you too! Don't you have any sense of danger either? Going to the Grand Line like you are, you'll die!"

"What are you screaming about?" the swordsman asked. "You're not coming along, are you?"

"N… no, but I'm worried. About you. I can, right? I can worry about you all I want."

"I guess…"

"Ruffy-san. I've only known you for about a day but… we are friends… right?"

The girl stared at him, but then she laughed heartedly. "A pirate chore-boy turned a marine is friends with pirates. What a hoax."

Coby whined. "Ruffy-san. I know that. Can't you please look past that?"

"We're friends, Coby," the girl assured. "Even if you are a pervert," she added with a grin.

A killing blow. The boy felt how all energy left him and he sank down into a depressed heap in the corner. "I'm not a pervert, Ruffy-san. Please stop saying that."

"Come on, Coby. I accept you just the way you are."

It was probably meant as comfort, but it was a weak sort. Coby didn't rise from his spot on the floor.

"I know, Ruffy-san."

"Hm?"

"You're reckless and hot-headed. Never thinking anything through you always dash straight forward, following only your own beliefs… I too. I will become a great marine. The best there is."

"Good."

He looked up, blinking with surprise. Ruffy had stood, put her hands behind her head and smiled down at him. For a second she looked away, like she heard something, but covered it up so nicely Coby forgot about it.

"And the strongest marines are at the headquarters in the Grand Line. So you'll have to go there too. Let's get going, Zoro."

"Ruffy-san! I'm not…!"

He had intended to grab her shoulders. He really had. There was a lot more things about the Grand Line he thought Ruffy should know before she left. But Ruffy had her arms up behind her head and it wasn't her shoulders Coby got a hold on.

"Coooobyyyy…"

'I am so dead.'

Ruffy brought her connected hands down hard on Coby's head. "Don't you ever learn!?"

The young boy smashed face first into the floor. His glasses broke, and probably his nose too.

Ruffy set a foot down on Coby's head to keep him down and crossed her arms protectively over her chest. "Time and again. I thought I had already warned you but obviously you can't keep your hands to yourself, can you?"

"Oi, oi. That's overdoing it."

The look on Ruffy's face and the cattish hiss sound she made told Zoro it was best not to touch her at all at that moment. The moment was however broken by the door opening and a calm voice talking. "Excuse me."

The marines stood outside the door and one of them, wearing a green necktie,had entered. "I'm the marine lieutenant. Are you… pirates?" he asked.

"Yes, I just found a good nakama, so we're a small pirate crew," Ruffy said and lifted her foot from Coby's head. He took a grateful breath before the girl stomped down on him again, hard.

"What are you doing to that boy?!"

"He made me angry," Ruffy said. When she lifted her foot this time Coby tried to get away, but was kicked in the side so that he flew into the far wall. He spit blood.

Outside both civilians and marines gasped and screamed in shock.

"Stop it! Pirates, we are all grateful that you helped us get rid of Morgan. That's why we won't report this to headquarters. But you have to leave this town immediately!"

"We were just leaving anyway," Ruffy said with a shrug of her shoulders. Turning around she picked up a bag of cloths and food Masako had come by and given her as a gift earlier. "Come on, Zoro. Let's go."

"Hai."

People parted as the girl and pirate… no-longer hunter headed towards the docks. Behind Ruffy left a coughing, defeated Coby.

'Again,' he thought. 'Ruffy-san knew the marines were on their way. She's a pirate. If she hadn't done this… I would…'

"Are you alright?"

Holding his side Coby angrily stood up and bowed to the officer. It was easier than to stand straight due to the pain.

"I… I want to join the marines! Please, I'll do chores or anything, but I want to be a marine soldier."

A long silence of surprise. Coby took deep breaths. He knew, this was his one and only chance. If he messed up now it would be the end and a waste of Ruffy-san's effort to help him.

"Lieutenant, I disagree."

Coby looked up. Another soldier had walked in and looked at him with suspicion.

"How so?" the lieutenant asked his subordinate.

"I don't trust this boy. He could be a pirate spy seeing he was fighting alongside that girl against…"

Something inside Coby suddenly snapped. "That bloody girl is an idiot!" he screamed and waved his arms around, blood flowing freely from his nose. "If she's gonna be the pirate king I'm gonna become Admiral and capture her! Whatever it takes I'm going to do it and put that fool behind bars!"

He tasted blood on his tongue and his side and nose hurt like hell, but Coby didn't care. From the beginning to the end he had lost to Ruffy in every way.

"…More often than not marines are killed by pirates."

"Huh?"

The lieutenant pulled his hat down over his eyes. "Don't underestimate the dangers. I allow you to join."

"Ha… aye sir!"

* * *

By the end of the main street Zoro observed that Ruffy seemed awfully pleased.

"You. Did you do that on purpose?"

"What?"

Zoro wasn't fooled by her innocent smiles. "You told me earlier Coby was a pirate chore boy before. You knew the marines were coming, that's why you made such a scene."

The girl just laughed. Zoro smirked, admitting he was a little impressed.

"You're quite the actor. Those marines must be sharp to see through that. Though Coby will have to take the chance himself."

"Ah yes, but he'll will manage. Even if he's wimpy he can be a man when he has to be."

With a shake of his head, the swordsman figured he simply had to take this girl as she came, but made a mental note to never touch her breasts. Just in case.

"I've been hunting pirates for a long time now. Suddenly acting as one myself is actually quite funny a feeling."

"Isn't it. No ties and no boundaries. Are you regretting it?"

Zoro chuckled. "No. Even being hated doesn't feel bad."

"Good."

Ruffy released her little boat after Zoro got in. She was about to join him when she heard a familiar heartbeat coming.

"Ruffy-san!" Coby skidded to a halt at the edge of the dock with blood still on his face from the nosebleed Ruffy had caused him. He saluted her. "Thank you! I will never forget you for as long as I live!"

Zoro chuckled at the sight. "A marine saluting a pirate? Now I've seen everything."

"You haven't seen anything yet, Zoro," Ruffy replied and joined him in the boat. "See you again someday, Coby. Keep your hands to yourself!"

"I'll throw you in prison one day!"

Both Zoro and Ruffy laughed at that.

"Men. Salute!"

"Eh?" Coby hadn't realized the rest of the marines had joined him.

Ruffy smiled and waved with both arms, calling "Bye, bye!" until she was so small in the distance Coby couldn't see her smile anymore. That's when she stopped waving and the small boat slowly disappeared into the light of the setting sun. Coby watched it happen with mixed feelings. Monkey D. Rayla. He would never meet another girl… no, another person like her. Good thing. He'd probably not survive if he did.

"A great friend you have there, boy," the lieutenant said softly.

"Yes," Coby cried. "I don't need enemies with friends like her."

Afterwards he realized that probably would have been a good line to at least have a small victory over Ruffy.

"I'm definitely not going to let her walk all over me next time we meet."


	6. The heart of Monkey D Ruffy

Okay; time to sing! Vintern raaaasat ut bland våra fjällar! Childrens' snoooowmen melting down and dies!

Me; (sits in a corner drawing circles on the ground) Don't know how many actually is interested, but here's a new chapter of On Top of the World

Malin; (sighs) Hey, keep your chin up. Just because you didn't get a single review for the last chapter it doesn't mean the end of the world.

Me; (now covered by a black cloud of depression) mumble... I was kind of proud of that chapter... mumbles... I'm the only one... mumble...

Malin; (shakes head) All right then. Some people have favoured and put this story up on their alert subscription and Mjus is grateful to you guys, even if she doesn't seem like it at the moment (glances over to the the depressed author and sweatdrops) Please note that she's caught some sort of flu and isn't too connected to the real world or has complete control of her emotions, so I'll take over the reins for now.

As you all have probably noticed already, Ruffy's past is very different from the original (on a side note; she was still placed in Dadan's care) However, just for your **information**; aside from Garp and Shanks and his crew, there have been three people in Ruffy's life that has had a great influence on her and her point of view. These people are Aki, Almen and Sun. They'll all be introduced little by little :)

Now on with the stroy.

* * *

_**The heart of Monkey D. Ruffy**_

They slept separately in the boat that night. Zoro hadn't dared to suggest Ruffy slept next to him to stay warm. He knew he could keep his heat in, but didn't know if the girl could too. Maybe it would have been different if Ruffy had been a man. Zoro probably wouldn't care so much then.

Sighing in slight exasperation as he closed his eyes, Zoro was aware of Ruffy's presence around the bow. He'd be a pirate with her just like he promised, and as far as his pride went he'd never break a promise. But the girl confused him. Her whistles, her strength, the katana. The katana most of all. How could a sword cut on its own accord?

Zoro fell asleep before he could think any further than that.

* * *

It was almost noon when he woke up. Ruffy was already awake, chewing on a lump of bread.

"Good morning, Zoro," she chirped happily.

"Morning," the swordsman yawned.

"I saved some food for you."

"Thanks."

Bread, some fruit and water. No rum. Too bad. He hadn't gotten a proper drink in a while. They had only served beer and juice yesterday. He had to make sure he could take in some much needed rum in the next town.

"So, where is the Grand Line?" he asked as he helped himself.

"I don't know. Where is it?"

Zoro glanced up from his bread. Ruffy sat on the bow and spied over the surface of the ocean.

"You can't navigate?"

"Not at all."

He sighed. The term "happy-go-lucky" fitted this girl frighteningly well. "How are we supposed to find the Grand Line if we don't even know where it is? By drifting about?"

"Let's just follow the wind. It's impossible to go on forever without spotting an island. But we better find one quickly. The food is gone."

That had Zoro choke on the water he was drinking. "What? I thought that old lady said the food should last a week."

"It was so good I ate it all."

Zoro looked at the one fruit he had yet to eat and the half cup of water. After this there was nothing left at all. Though he should probably be happy Ruffy had saved a little for him at least.

"Is there a fishing pole in this boat?" he asked while looking around himself.

"I couldn't find one."

"Damn. How are we supposed to survive?"

Ruffy giggled. "You lived nine days without food. Surely you can manage three or four days at sea."

"I can." It wasn't really himself he worried about.

"I will live," the girl continued as she gazed over the sea. "I will be the king of pirates. Definitely."

"About that," Zoro started.

"Hm?"

"You're a girl, so don't you mean you'll be the _queen_ of pirates?"

"Eh? What's that?"

"Don't 'eh' me, Ruffy. Men are kings and women are queens."

Ruffy gave him a very blank look. "But the one who conquer the Grand Line and obtains the One Piece will become the _king_ of pirates."

"That…'s right," Zoro realized. That's what the legend said. Had nobody thought of a woman finding the One Piece? "Whatever."

"What about you?" Ruffy asked. "The world's greatest swordsman. There already is one you know."

"Yes. I set out to the sea looking for him," Zoro confessed. "But then I couldn't find my way back home, so I started hunting down fugitives for living expenses. Pirates are what gives most money these days, hence the nickname Pirate Hunter I suppose."

"Oh, so you're lost," Ruffy smiled.

"Don't call me that! Where are you from anyway?"

"It doesn't matter. I don't even know if it's a home anymore, or if it ever really was one. It's been a long time, everyone might have forgotten about me. So you could as well say I'm just a homeless."

Zoro's eyes held a glint of suspiciousness in their scrutiny of the girl's face. "Homeless huh?" What had she done? Run away from home? "And piracy is your answer? There are better ways to make a living you know."

"Not for me there isn't. I have no other choice." Ruffy took out her katana from her belt. "I really wanted to be a pirate since I was a child, and now it's the only thing I can do. Good huh? Since there is no other option, I can follow my dream without regrets and nobody can say I could have led a different life."

Zoro listened. Following was a bit hard, but he thought he understood the basics. Whatever this girl had gone through it had left her with piracy as the only way of living. Was she hiding from something?

He glanced at the one thing that he wanted to know the most about. "So what's up with that katana?"

"Shodai?" Ruffy held the sword out and smiled at it. "Sun said it was her mother's sword and that she didn't want the marines to have her. She always said there are too few real swordsmen in the world."

On that matter Zoro was bent to agree. "That's not really what I asked for. How come it can act even without anyone using it? That shouldn't be possible."

Ruffy blinked stupidly. "Eh? What do you mean?"

"Just what I'm saying. A sword that acts on its own, I've never heard of anything like it. I get strange shivers just looking at it."

"Don't call her it!" Ruffy defended and held the katana closer to her body. "Shodai is a female and can be a real bitch."

"That's exactly what I mean. You talk like that katana is a person."

"She's a katana," Ruffy said with a confused frown.

"It… she is more than that."

"Of course she…" the girl paused and blinked before her eyes widened in understanding. "Ah, that's right. Zoro can't hear heartbeats!"

"Heartbeats?"

"Yup, you can't hear them, right? Otherwise you wouldn't ask such strange questions about Shodai."

Zoro was about to counter again, but sighed instead. Trying to get Ruffy to make sense was most probably doomed to fail.

"Okay, so that katana is a girl with a heartbeat?"

"No. She's a katana with a heartbeat. And really bitchy. Sun said that only she and her mother could ever use this Shodai Kitetsu, because she's cursed. We have an agreement though. Sun handed Shodai down to me, so as long as I keep my promise Shodai will protect me."

Now it was finally starting to make sense. A cursed sword. That explained a lot. The feeling Zoro got from the katana was because it was cursed!

"How'd you make an agreement with her?"

"The heartbeats. Some things like Shodai have a heartbeat that is stronger than most humans'…" she paused, but quickly her face brightened with excitement. "Can I listen to your heart?!"

"Huh?"

Ruffy spoke slower. "Can I listen to your heat, _please_?"

Zoro gave her a suspicious look, but she just lifted her eyebrows a little higher in question, still smiling.

"I don't get you," Zoro stated.

Ruffy giggled. "That's why I want to listen to your heart. You can hear mine too. It's a bond."

"Okay?"

"So can I?"

He looked at her for a moment. Ruffy smiled hopefully at him, so much so that Zoro could easily imagine a pair of eager dog ears and a wagging tail on her.

"Do whatever you want."

"Hooray!" Ruffy yelled and leaped into the air, landing heavily on the unsuspecting man so that the boat rocked dangerously in the water. She glued herself onto him with her arms around his chest and purred like a cat.

To say Zoro was startled would be an understatement. "O-oi? What's the big idea? Do you have to…?"

"Yup, I have to," Ruffy said happily and made herself comfortable, completely ignoring Zoro's discomfort.

The man wiggled and half-heartedly tried to pry Ruffy off him, but it was like she had grown into him. At least she lay still, so after an awkward moment, Zoro sank down and tried to be comfortable too.

The weather was really nice. Sunshine and winds pushing them forwards made it a rather good day. The waves were very calm too, only splashing quietly against the wood of the boat making it rock like a cradle.

Ruffy giggled, increasing Zoro's self-consciousness and discomfort.

"What's so funny?"

"You're such a great guy, Zoro," the girl said.

"Huh?"

She looked up at him, her ear never leaving his chest. "You believe in the moral that the strong must protect those who are weaker. You like to help people. It makes you feel good even if people don't always appreciate that help. Your conscience is always clean." She sighed deeply and moved her arms up so that she held onto him like a child. "I like the sound of your heart."

It looked like she fell asleep. Her breath was calm and even. So Zoro put her hat over her head to protect it from the sun.

Relaxing into the boat Zoro found that it didn't feel that bad to have Ruffy lying on him. On the contrary it was comfortable and warm. She was soft and her body lay in an angle so that her shapes fitted against him.

Smiling to himself, Zoro decided he could use some more sleep too.

* * *

_He fought her again, Kuina. Damn, how could this girl be so strong? And fast. She blocked him all the time even when he used his sneakiest attacks._

_His wooden swords were ripped out of his hands and a hit to his forehead had him falling on his butt. Kuina stood over him with a victorious smirk, bamboo sword pointed to his chest._

_"You're weak as always, Zoro."_

_The disappointment and frustration he felt every time he lost to that girl grew and grew. _

_Loss number 2.000._

_He couldn't take it anymore! That's why he sneaked into the store house and took two swords that night. Real swords. This was going to be a live or die duel. His mind was set._

_"Kuina. I challenge you on a duel with real swords!"_

_"Against you? Sure."_

_But even with his mind set, even with all the determination he carried, he still lost, and Kuina let him live._

_"Damn! Damn! I can't believe it!"_

_"Why are you upset, Zoro? I should be the one crying."_

_"Eh?" __Why did she look so slumped? Why didn't she smirk at him like always?_

_"When girls grow up they become weaker than men. I'll soon fall behind you. Don't you always say that you're going to be the world's best swordsman?"_

_She started crying._

_"You're so lucky to be a boy, Zoro. I want to be the world's best too. And now my breasts are developing. I wish I could have been born a boy…"_

_"What the hell are you saying?! You won! That's unfair! My goal has always been to be as good as you!"_

_"Zoro…"_

_"What girl or boy? You're gonna blame it on that if I win one day? As if all my efforts to beat you didn't make a difference! So let's make a promise. One day you or I will be the number one swordsman in the world. See who can make it first!"_

_Kuina dried her eyes. She smiled. "Stupid! Don't say things like that when you're so weak." _

_She took his hand. "It's a promise."_

_But she died. The very next day Kuina fell down the stairs and died. _

_He had never felt so heartbroken. She had promised. Now there was nobody to compete with. No way to see if he ever got any closer to his goal. But she had wanted to be the best swordsman in the world too, and he could only think of one way to take her there. He asked sensei, Kuina's father, for her katana._

_"I will be strong in her stand! I will be so great even the heaven hear of my name!"_

_That's the vow he made to her at her grave, crying._

_"You're such a good guy, Zoro."_

_"Huh?"_

_He turned away from Kuina's grave. Ruffy stood behind him, covered with blood and chained to hands and feet, even around her neck there was a ring of iron._

_"You have a good ambition," Ruffy said with a smile. _

_She was crying, her tears making lines in the blood on her face. A cold wind hit Zoro in the face and he noticed that Ruffy stood to her knees in a glowing red sea. The horizon was black and shadows floated around in the red water._

_"Water?"_

_It didn't smell of sea or water. He had smelt this scent many times. It was blood!_

_Ruffy fell to her knees. The red sea pulled back and revealed that the seabed was made out of sharp knives, and Ruffy stood there on her knees. _

_The tide came in. A wave of fire, blood and shadows._

_Zoro ran forward. Ruffy was going to die if he didn't pull her out of that._

_He reached her, feeling the pain as the knives penetrated his feet, and pulled her up against him. How could it be so cold when there was fire everywhere? Soapy bubbles floated around. Looking at one Zoro found an image reflecting inside it._

_"Don't look."_

_"What?"_

_Ruffy had grabbed his shirt and buried her face in his chest._

_"I won't look deeper into your heart, so please don't look closer at mine."_

_A force stronger than anything Zoro had ever felt tore them apart. Ruffy was sucked down into a deep abyss and a weight on his chest sent Zoro flying backwards._

* * *

"Gaaaaaaah!"

"Hm? Zoro?"

She was right in front of him, sleepy-eyed and clean. Her hair was short and her skin warm. No chains, no blood and no tears.

"You're gonna break my arms, Zoro."

"Oh, s-sorry."

'A nightmare. Damn. What the hell was that?'

He had a cold sweat and his heart was racing. But who wouldn't be anxious after a dream like that?

Ruffy watched him quietly.

"What?" Zoro asked when he noticed.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a dream."

"It wasn't a dream."

Zoro paled and stared at her. Ruffy fidgeted and looked away.

"I told you. I won't look at your heart anymore, so don't look any closer at me."

"That was a sea of blood!"

She glared at him with a pout. "Yes. Mine and my friends'. Those who wanted me to live are all dead now."

The man released a breath. Dead friends would always be a sensitive subject. "All right. I won't ask any more."

"Thanks," Ruffy said as Zoro leaned his head back against the railing. "But you're helping you know."

"Huh?"

The girl smiled gently at him. "You're helping, pulling me out of that sea, into another one that isn't so bad."

Zoro sighed. He couldn't say he understood, but Ruffy didn't seem like she was hurting, so he left it at that.

"Geez, I'm hungry," he complained instead.

"Ah, you're right. The food's gone!"

"And whose fault is that!?"

Ruffy's stomach growled loudly. "I'm hungryyy."

"Stop whining. Geez, how old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"That's not…!" Zoro held up a trembling fist even as he realized that hitting the girl wouldn't cure her of her single-mindedness. "I get it."

The little boat was silent for a while as the duo inside stared at the sky. A shadow passed them.

"Oh, a bird," Zoro identified the shadow's caster.

"Wow, big…" Ruffy sat up straight. "Let's eat the bird!"

"How?"

"Leave it to me."

Even when that comment made Zoro nervous he didn't have time enough to stop his captain from jumping high into the air. She landed on the bow so that the boat almost tipped forward, and with a happy whistle she shot into the air, pushing the bow the rest of the way down into the water. Luckily Zoro sat in the other end and weighted it back down.

"You idiot! Couldn't you find a better way?"

Using the water barrel the swordsman started to get the water out of the boat and cursed his captain at the same time, until her heard her voice again.

"Ah?!"

That didn't sound good. Dreading what he'd see Zoro looked up. The bird had caught Ruffy in its beak and was flying off with her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"_You stupid fool! What the hell are you doing!?_" Zoro roared, grabbed the oars and rowed like a madman to keep up. "Can't you think before you act!? Use the sword and cut the bird down for fuck's sake!"

He rowed for life with his eyes on the bird. Hopefully that idiot girl wouldn't get her head bitten off or something, not that it would make much of a difference, but still. Birds usually took their prey to their nest before killing them, right? That thought wasn't very reassuring either. Zoro had to believe in Ruffy's strength for now and just try to keep his eyes on that bird.

"Ooooiiii! You in the boat!"

"What?" Zoro lowered his gaze to the sea at the sound of voices.

"Stop the boat. Help us!"

Hands waved from the water right in front of him. "Castaways? At a time like this...! I don't have time to stop! Jump aboard if you can."

So he continued rowing and looked for the bird. It hadn't changed course but it was farther away than before. The three castaways were heavy and slowed down the boat a bit, but that didn't bother him. As long as he could keep that bird in sight he should be able to find both land and his captain soon enough.

But Lady Luck wasn't really on his side on that matter. The three people he had picked up pulled out draggers.

"Stop the boat. We are pirates of Buggy the Clown's crew."

Zoro turned to the freeloaders with a glare.

It took them five seconds and a few good punches before they realised who he was, and by then the bird was gone and Ruffy with it. Nothing to do. He put the freeloaders on rowing duty so that he had his hands free to fight if needed.

"We are so sorry, sir. Who would have thought you are the famous pirate hunter Zoro. Please forgive us!"

"I lost sight of my friend because of you," Zoro growled. "Row straight and we should find her. I'm pretty sure she can handle herself. What were you doing in the water anyways?"

"It was that girl!"

"That evil girl."

"She was cute too."

The pirates told Zoro about a woman who had tricked them, taken their boat and treasure and sent them into a storm.

"She can predict weather? That's useful, she should join our crew," the swordsman said to himself, smiling. They really did need someone who could point out in which direction they had to go to get somewhere. He didn't listen to the freeloaders until a certain name came up again.

"Buggy? Who is Buggy?"

"You never heard of Buggy the Clown?" the one pirate not busy with rowing asked back.

"Never heard of him," Zoro replied indifferently.

"He's the captain of our pirate crew. A fearsome man who ate a Devil Fruit."

Zoro lifted an eyebrow. "Devil Fruit? The secret treasure of the sea?"

"That's right. He's called Devil Buggy. The things he can do… it feels like you're dreaming when you see it, and then we belong to his crew."

'Devil fruit, huh?' Zoro thought and tried to recall what had happened yesterday. Ruffy's whistles and her strange heart listening ability. Could it be the doing of a devil fruit? He had to ask her when he found her again.


	7. She is Nami

Everyone; I'm sorry about this but I MUST ramble a little. Where I work we are a little more than 300 people. One of those people is a little woman I both pity and admire. Admire her because she hasn't suffered from a heart attack yet and has given birth to four sons (FOUR! This fragile-looking little woman who looks like she could break if you're too rough with her!) I pity her because she's so easily frightened it's embarrassing. Seriously, you can't say anything to her before she's noticed you or she'll jump and/or shriek (well, she might shriek when she notice you too). Some people think it's awfully funny how easy it is to scare this little woman and jump her every two minutes. (Once I told her "Geez, you'd be scared by your own shadow," as a joke. She replied "Yes, that happens" with a sigh. I thought she was pulling my leg...) By the end of the day she's mor often than not completely drained from screaming so much. Still she is the absolutely nicest and most kind-hearted woman you'll ever meet. I admire her strong heart, and pity her skittishness and the fact she can't ask people to stop scaring her because she knows she'll be scared whether they want her to or not.

I send a thought to all the people out there who can still smile no matter what problems they have. I admire you all from the bottom of my heart.

The End

Okay, so this chapter caused me some trouble because of a pun. I hate that pun. That pun called Bara bara no mi. Don't argue with me; it IS a pun! One that's damn hard to translate too! How the hell do you translate Bara Bara smoothly anyway! I'm so torn between trying to translate it or just keep the Japanese attack names, which in turn causes troubles with ALL THE OTHER attack names. Please let me hear your opinions on this one because I'm already swaying between translation and original.

This chapter also reveals the first real hint to Ruffy's devil fruit power. See if any of you can make a guess. I will leave hints here and there in the chapters to come, and the reason to WHY Ruffy hasn't shown it off will be revealed in two chapters.

Now please enjoy reading :)

* * *

_**She is Nami, a thief who only steals from pirates**_

It had been just a tiny little mishap. The thief hadn't thought anybody would stand outside that door when nobody had been there when she walked in. Good thing pirates are stupid and guys so easy to distract as long as a girl is willing to play foul. She had gotten away and taken the chart over the Grand Line along. Now she was being chased by three men with sabres. Not according to plan. She had to think fast and get rid of them. She wouldn't let go of the chart. It was her ticket to greater riches and freedom. Nothing… _nothing_ could stand in between her and her freedom now that she was so close!

A sudden explosion from above had the thief stumbling from surprise. Were the pirates so angry they were firing the cannon at her? But she had the chart! If they blew her up it would be gone with her. She threw a startled glance over her shoulder and had to stop at what she saw. The explosion hadn't come from a house as she had initially thought, but rather from high above the roofs, and it looked like a person was falling out from a cloud of black smoke. But that couldn't be…

Whatever was coming down landed with a crash, a scream the thief hadn't fully registered being cut short, in between her and her pursuers, causing a small could of dust as well as total standstill for both the thief and the pirates.

A voice came from inside the cloud, groaning slightly. "Damn. Who shot that cannon ball at me? That's dangerous!"

The thief's eyes widened as the dust cleared. A skinny girl in a red tank top and a straw hat stood up from a small crater in the clobbered street and massaged her neck, looking at the sky.

"Well. At least I'm saved. What an interesting experience."

Interesting indeed. The thief looked the girl over, eyes stopping at her hip. She had a katana. A great chance.

Clapping her hands together the thief smiled thankfully. "Boss, did you come to save me? Thank you! I'll leave the rest to you!"

Before anyone could react the thief ran away as fast as she could, rounded a corner and made sure nobody followed. Only then she was hit by bad conscience.

"Damn, that was mean. I hope they didn't kill her, that girl."

After stuffing the chart into the safety of her bra she climbed up the wall of a house and over the roof to take a look, prepared to pay her condolences to the unexpected victim of both hers and the pirates' cruelty.

The scene on the street below was not the one she had expected to see though. She couldn't help but gawk. The pirates all lay scattered around on the ground, unconscious, and that skinny girl descended from the sky was patting dust off her hat, unharmed. She must really know how to use that sword.

"Amazing!" the thief cried with delight. "You are really good, aren't you?"

The black-haired girl looked up from her hat and searched around her, scratching her head in confusion when she couldn't see anybody.

"Up here," the thief guided and the girl finally looked up with a dumb expression on her face. She had a band aid under her left eye but that was all harm visible on her. She couldn't be very old either.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Nami, a thief who only steals treasures from pirates," Nami smiled and jumped from the roof down to a balcony directly over other girl. "Hey, would you like to join me? I could really use your help."

"No. Not interested in joining anyone," the other girl said bluntly and walked off.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Nami called and jumped down to the street, falling in beside the other girl.

"I can't wait, gotta hurry back to my friend," the straw hatted girl answeredwith a slight frown of annoyance, before her stomach growled and she stopped dead in her tracks, hands over her belly. "Oh no. I'm so hungry. What should I do? I have no money either."

Nami blinked and tilted her head. "I could treat you if you'd like." She was surprised when the other girl jumped around with a hopeful face.

"You'd treat me? Really?!" she asked with drool dripping from the corner of her mouth, which was quickly wiped away.

Nami smiled back nervously, but she guessed she owed this strange girl at least this much, for using her like that. "Y-yes, really. Come on."

"Yatta!"

Nami had already mapped the town in her mind before she went for the chart, to have an advance when taking off, so she knew her way around. The girl in her wake started to whistle a happy little melody. Somehow, in an unexplainable way, the little tune made Nami's heart feel a little lighter.

"Here," the thief said and opened an unlocked door. "I'll serve you something."

"Yosh. I'm coming in."

The house consisted of a short hallway where the girls removed their footwear, a kitchen and living room sharing a room, and connecting bath- and bed rooms. Nami went straight for the half of the first room that was kitchen and started slapping something together.

"What's your name? You didn't say."

"Rayla," the girl answered absent-mindedly.

"Rayla huh? That's a rather unusual name," Nami turned around and found the other girl in front of a mirror in the living room area, picking at the band aid on her face.

"Wow. It's even uglier than I expected," Rayla exclaimed.

Nami blinked. "Eh? Ugly?"

The straw hat girl turned to face her. Now that the band aid was gone the wound it had concealed poked for attention. _That_ definitely looked like it would leave a scar.

"What happened?!" Nami cried worriedly as Rayla came to sit by the table. "Was it pirates?"

"What?"

The thief held up an angrily trembling first looking for someone to hit. "To harm a girl's face is an unforgivable crime!" she declared loudly with a growl to her voice. "That scar around your throat is terrible too! What kind of man would ever…?!"

"I did it."

Nami silenced with her fist still up and looked to the other girl. "Come again?"

"I cut my face. Not very pretty right?"

A look of confusion mixed with concern crossed Nami's face. "You… by yourself? Why? Your throat…?"

Rayla sat cross-legged on a chair. "I don't want to talk about the scars. This," she touched the stitched wound under her eye, "I just didn't want to be pretty anymore. It's a pain. I cut my hair too," she pulled a hand through the short, uneven hair, fisting her hand in it with a cold, almost hateful face, "and I feel a lot better."

Nami felt a chill down her spine, but the other girl's growling stomach punctured the suddenly chilled atmosphere.

"Foooood," she whined.

The thief shook her head clear from the strange feeling of dread. "Hai, hai. Wait just a moment."

Bread, vegetables, ham and fruit, water to drink. Simple and yet the dark-haired girl ate with relish. Nami sat down at the other end of the table to watch. She had grabbed a bite before she went to steal the map over the Grand Line from those pirates, because you never knew when you might see food again. The dark-haired girl didn't seem to mind having someone observe her while eating. Nami couldn't contain her curiosity.

"Where did you come from?" she asked.

"Hm?" Bright brown eyes looked up from the food.

"You fell from the sky," Nami clarified. "What happened?"

"I was sailing with my crew, and a bird appeared and I tried to catch it, but it flew away with me."

"Aha…" Tried to catch a bird big enough to fly away with you? "…so you lost your crew at sea? How many?"

"Just one." Rayla tilted her head to the right and then to the left. "Are you friends with the people who live here?"

"Huh? No. I don't come from this town. I'm a thief; I don't even know whose house this is. Everybody is evacuated due to Buggy's pirate fleet dwelling in the town."

Once again the girl looked up from the food, this time with an incredulous look. "There's someone bugging pirates? They must be brave."

"No!" Nami cried and slapped her hand against the table so hard it hurt. Had she really been that indistinct? "The pirate captain is named Buggy. Listen. He's an infamous pirate and known for his love towards cannons. It's said that he once wiped out an entire village because some child there had been joking about his nose. Besides, the rumours say he has some strange magical power."

Rayla looked around with a slightly furrowed brow, as if she didn't listen or didn't care. "There really isn't anyone in this town."

"I told you a minute ago they have evacuated!"

Those innocently brown eyes blinked a few times. "Oh. So you're breaking and entering while no one is around." Rayla concluded with a smile that looked automatic because of the flash of comprehension in her eyes.

"Am not!" Nami protested, slamming her fist into the table this time. "Didn't you hear me when I said I only steal from pirates!? Don't compare me to some cheap robber."

"You sure? A thief is still a thief though," the straw hatted girl stated with her head tilted to the side.

Nami looked into those wide, brown eyes. This girl was a bit dumb, but seemed nice enough, so maybe it wouldn't hurt to tell her.

"My goal is to earn a hundred million beli, no matter what. Then I'm going to buy a certain village."

"A village?" Rayla asked around a pear, drying her lip from juice before she swallowed. "That's really a lot of money. How are you gonna manage that?"

"With this," Nami said and pulled out the chart from her bra. "A map over the Grand Line!"

It didn't have quite the desired effect. Rayla stared strangely at Nami's face and chest.

"What?"

The straw hat girl glanced down and up Nami's body. "Say… you are a real girl, right?"

The coin fell through, and Nami didn't know if she was more angered or embarrassed. "I'm a real girl! Look here," she leant forward and pulled at the neck of her t-shirt, "I have real boobs! I was only hiding this chart in my bra!"

"Oh… chart…?" Rayla blinked twice before her eyes widened. "Did you say Grand Line!?"

'Finally!' "I did. Once I've stolen the treasures from Buggy the clown I'm going to head for the Grand Line and steal the treasures from richer and richer pirates!" She sat on the table. "So what do you say? Why not be rich with me? I can really use someone as good with a sword as you, and you can have a great share of the loot."

"Hm? I don't want your money, and I can't use a sword."

Nami just looked at her, the victorious smile frozen on her face. "I beg your pardon?"

"I don't want to join with anyone, I don't want the money you earn, and I can't use a sword," Rayla revealed with a clear voice, as if she hadn't before.

The thief glanced down towards the katana at this oddball's hip with utter disbelief. "What is that then?"

"Hm? You mean Shodai? She's a katana."

Gaping like a goldfish, Nami suddenly sprung up from her position on the table. "Why would you have a katana if you can't use it? How else did you defeat those pirates earlier?"

Rayla held up a warning finger. "_She_, not _it_," she explained with a serious expression, but when she lowered her finger her face was back to normal. "I kicked down those guys. They almost damaged my hat and tried to cut off my head you know, it really pissed me off!"

The thief could hardly believe it. This skinny little girl who would probably lose to a monkey in a game of brains had beaten up_ three armed men_ without a weapon!? To top it off she sounded like it wasn't even unusual for her to do such a thing. Nami's great persuading plan had fallen flat too.

"By the way…" Rayla was staring at the chart still in Nami's hand. "Do you know how to navigate?"

"If I know how to navigate? Humph, more than that. Who do you think I am?" Regaining her spirits Nami pumped her fist with the other hand on her upper arm. "I'm not just any cheap navigator. I'm great! And I love the sea."

Rayla's face lit up with excited delight. "Really? That's great! We're going to the Grand Line too!"

"For real?!"

"Of course! You can be the navigator of my pirate crew!"

Nami smiled, about to answer… Pirate… Pirate crew!? "NEVER! You were a pirate?"

Rayla blinked in surprise, not sure what just happened.

The thief waved her hands in denial. "No way. Forget we ever had this conversation. I will never team up with a pirate."

"You're already a criminal."

"Am not."

"Not?" The dark-haired girl tilted her head slightly to the side. "The police and marines hunts pirates and they hunt thieves. I can't see a difference."

"I'm different!" Nami screamed. "Pirates this and pirates that. This era is so stupid. Pirates are the worst there is in the whole world! I _hate_ them! The only things I like are money and tangerines!"

"But I want you as my nakama," Rayla deadpanned.

"Shut up! I said no and I mean it!"

Inside Nami was fuming. So this stupid girl was a pirate? That must be why she cut her face; to look more dangerous. The scar around her throat was most likely from her somehow by the skin of her teeth being saved from being hanged.

Voices outside alerted the thief, and in a flash she thought of a good plan. "On second thought. I might consider being your navigator, if you meet a certain condition."

"The people outside are getting really nervous," Rayla said instead of answering and walked up to the window.

"Don't just stand in plain sight, you fool!" Nami hissed loudly and pulled the other girl back.

"What are they afraid of?"

"How should I know…? Wait. How can you tell they are nervous?"

"I can hear it. Since this town has a really homey sound the nervousness is easy to pick out."

Nami blinked and stared. Homey sound? This girl must be crazier than… anyone Nami had ever met. "Whatever. Are you willing to meet my condition?"

"Hm? What condition?"

"Don't you ever listen to what people say?! I told you I'd consider being your navigator if you meet my conditions."

"Aha. Okay. What is it?"

Feeling slightly victorious and very relieved that the idiot was finally listening Nami placed a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "I want use you to infiltrate Buggy's crew by handing you over to them as a present so I can steal their treasure…"

Nami stood frozen. What… did she just say?

Rayla blinked at her a few times before she found her voice again. "Hand me over?"

"Yes…!? I mean… I will use you… Buggy is a fool so I can infiltrate… using you… I'll give you to them as a gift and…!" 'What's wrong with me?!'

The straw hat girl glanced at the hand on her shoulder and swatted it away.

"I just want you to come with me to see Buggy the Clown!"

Having finally said it the right way Nami leaned against the table to catch her breath. 'What the heck happened? Suddenly I couldn't…'

"Sorry about that. I had totally forgotten about it."

"_It_?" Dread filled the thief's chest and mind. "What is _it_?"

"For some reason people can't lie when they touch me," the pirate girl explained with an apologetic smile. "It was a long time since anybody tried to lie while touching me, so I had forgotten all about it. Sorry."

"Can't… lie…?"

"Yup. Not at all. The truth just slips out."

"…Oh no…"

Ruffy blinked as the other girl lay groaning over the table. "What's wrong? Is it bleeding time?"

"…No…!"

Ruffy stared at the thief in utter confusion. This girl was just plain strange. First she was kind enough to give her food, even from somebody else's stores. She eagerly tried to persuade Ruffy to join her, but when asked the same question back she flat out refused before she changed her mind again but with a condition. Did she want to join Ruffy's crew or not? No matter how Nami twisted and turned she couldn't have it both ways.

Trying to think of a way to solve this problem Ruffy scratched her head and thought back at what the thief had said.

"The condition for you to join my crew is to go to Buggy with you?"

The other girl looked up with a strange face. "Yes?"

"Then let's go."

"What?!"

Ruffy, already heading for the door, turned around and gave her new friend an impatient look. "You're the one who said we should go, so come on. I want to set sail towards the Grand Line soon."

Baffled Nami took a good ten seconds to recover. "Right. Just a second. There is something I need to prepare first," she said, all the while thinking; 'Is this girl for real? So dumb! Whatever, this is my chance.'

"What's that?" Rayla asked, eying the rope in Nami's hand when she finally joined her.

"Just rope. Does it bother you?" Nami smiled innocently.

"Not really."

She said that, and it was true, yet she hadn't been able to avoid that initial wariness she felt towards the rope. But ropes can be used in many ways and for many things.

Nami led the way towards the restaurant where the pirates resided, and all the way there Rayla whistled, or perhaps chipped was more precise, because she sounded just like a little bird.

The bright-haired girl pointed out their destination. "Over there. Buggy and his men have made their camp on the roof of that building."

"Good. What are we going to do when we get there?" Rayla asked and walked on.

Smirking with mischief Nami slipped in behind the other girl. "You'll see when we get there, pirate sister," she explained before she skilfully had Rayla tied up around her body, wrists and ankles so that she couldn't run away.

Rayla tensed up and wiggled a bit, but gave up rather fast and Nami took her katana.

"Hey, don't touch Shodai! She's not friendly."

"Don't be stupid, it's just a sword. I'll give it back to you later… maybe."

So Nami happily dragged her "catch" along the ground towards the restaurant.

A short, dark-skinned man in a clown costume stood on guard in the entrance, and when he saw Nami he immediately pulled out his knives.

"Ah, no need, no need," Nami assured with a calming wave of her hand. "I've come to return the map I stole earlier."

"_HUUUUH_?"

The thief gave her sweetest smile. "Can you take me to captain Buggy please?"

The short man was dumbfounded to say at least. His body turned and started moving before his head followed and he ran up the stairs, probably to report to the captain. Nami grabbed her captive around the shoulders and pulled her up the stairs.

"A small body and just as light. You're almost underfed."

"Not almost, I _am_ underfed. But it's gotten better. I was only skin and bones for a while."

"Oh? So you were starving in a prison for a few days? Too bad you escaped your execution."

Rayla flinched, but then she turned and gave Nami a weird look. "_My_ execution?"

They were up the stairs. A lot of different clowns surrounded them, stepping aside to open a path towards a patched up miniature circus tent.

"That's her! Captain, that's the thief and the boss."

Nami recognized the voices of the men that had pursued her earlier and smiled innocently at them. Rayla didn't make a sound when Nami pushed her forward so that she landed on her face by the feet of a man in the shadow of the tent.

Captain Buggy the clown had cold eyes over a large, round and blood red nose. A bright orange coat with furry edges hung over his shoulders, falling around an average sized frame. He seemed to be quite slim for a man though. Nami could without looking around see at least four men who looked a lot stronger than the clown. It was a little hard to see him properly when he lingered on his throne in the shadows though, and Nami could feel his hard gaze on her so she couldn't waste more time on his appearance.

"I captured the thief for you, great captain Buggy the clown. I'm returning the chart too."

A tall man in a scarf walked up to her and took the map, examining it with sharp, blue-green eyes. "It's the real thing, captain," he confirmed.

The clown captain chuckled. "You're smart to return my map, little thief girl there, but why the sudden change of mind?"

Nami smiled her most innocent smile. "Boss and I had a serious disagreement. I can't stand her anymore. Let me join your pirate crew."

The clown in the shadows made a strange sound through his nose.

The other pirates backed away, unsure of the reaction such an announcement would cause, until their captain burst out in a loud laugh.

"'Can't stand her anymore'?!" the clown laughed. "What a flashily amusing chick you are! I like you. Welcome into my crew!"

The thief smiled even brighter. 'Success! Now I just have to steal everything and say goodbye to this town.'

Buggy turned to his crew and motioned at them with a wide, most dramatic gesture. "Men, bring out the monkey cage and put this little thief boss in it."

A chorus of "Aye!" followed as the pirates turned to obey.

Nami watched as six men pulled a heavy stone cage over the floor from a different tent, and another man hauled Rayla up on his shoulder. But she obviously didn't fancy the thought of being put in a cage, because as soon as she saw it she started to act up.

"Calm it, you bitch. I'll drop you if… Aaaaahhh! Get her off! Get her off! My arm! She bit me! It hurts!"

The girl was really struggling. She had buried her teeth so deep into the pirate's arm she was drawing blood. Nami watched with a prick of guilt in her heart. The marines/police had probably not been very nice to her in prison, so of course the girl wouldn't like it when being put in behind bars again.

It took five men before they finally locked the cage with the girl inside, but her struggle didn't stop. She tugged hard on the ropes and banged her head hard against the bars, crying "Let me out!" over and over again.

Outside the cage Nami glanced at the damage the straw hatted girl had caused. Two men were out cold for different reasons, the other three were bleeding, one even half an ear poorer. The thief couldn't help the stray thought that Rayla must have some damn sharp teeth.

Buggy only chuckled in amusement, much in the same fashion as a rooster. "You put on a good show, thief-boss. I almost like you." He turned around and faced the girl with the tangerine coloured hair. "Oi, what is your name?"

"It's Nami."

"Yosh! Everybody! Let's welcome Nami into the crew! Let's party hard and reload your energy for the next battle!"

"AYE!"

And as clowns do their party went, showing off their tricks to each other and dancing around. Ruffy watched from the other side of the bars with rising interest. She didn't feel quite as bad as she had when she realized she'd be put in a little cage. Watching the clowns was actually fun. She could even laugh at some of them.

That mean girl was also having fun. Ruffy could hear the sound of her heartbeats almost touching haughtiness. She thought she had everything going her way, blending in with the celebrating pirates, laughing and drinking. It made Ruffy a little worried, especially when she could hear the clown captain's heartbeat. There was something strange and yet familiar about it. She'd never met Buggy before, but she knew she'd heard his strange sort of heartbeat... somewhere.

After a while, the thief slipped away and walked up to the cage, sitting on her heels grinning mischievously at the girl inside it.

"How are ya, boss?"

"Not so bad. I can still see the sky. Give back Shodai. I want food," Ruffy listed offhandedly.

"Heh. You don't realize the situation you're in. You'll most likely be sold as a slave somewhere or worse."

"I don't think they'll sell me. They are pirates after all."

"Exactly. Pirates do such things."

Ruffy didn't pick up, just swung her knees up and down. A thinking-habit of hers.

"Don't worry," the girl outside the bars continued with a more honest smile. "If my plan goes smoothly I'll at least open the cage for you. After all, I don't actually dislike you."

Ruffy furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head. This girl's heartbeats were so sure, but the sounds of the pirates were very different. "Oi, do you know what you're doing?"

"Of course I do. I've dealt with pirates before."

Ruffy hummed, her expression slightly uneasy. "I guess I should be worried about me then."

While surprised, Nami was still happy Rayla seemed to understand her situation, even if it was only a little. Even if the girl was a bloody pirate, she wasn't all evil.

Buggy walked up to them with a loud laugh. "You should be more careful when choosing partners, thief-boss there."

Those words made the caged girl pout. "What are you talking about? I'm not her boss."

"Yes, yes" Buggy nodded with genuine pity. "I understand you feel that way, after being betrayed by your own and all."

Ruffy was surprised, and a little touched that the pirate captain actually had heart enough to send her a little bit of sympathy. She liked it. But those were all the feelings Buggy spent on his captive, and he once again grinned evilly into the cage.

"To lay as much as a finger on my things is a terrible crime, even if I get them back. I know what to do with you."

"You'll let me out?" Ruffy asked hopefully.

"That's right, I'll let you… Die hard! Of course not! Idiot!" The clown spun around. "Boys! Prepare a Buggy Ball Special!"

The pirates cheered loudly and Ruffy's own heart jumped with the sudden height of excitement. Buggy's men hastily fetched one of their cannons from the storage tent and that short dark-skinned man came walking with a dark red cannon ball with Buggy's mark on it.

The cannon aimed at the town.

"The Buggy Ball Special is ready to fire, captain!"

"Watch the Buggy Ball's power! FIRE!"

The explosion was nothing like from an ordinary cannon, not the result either. Ruffy couldn't see very well, but there were no more rooftops where the cannon had aimed, and a lot of quiet "home hearts" had silenced. That cannon ball had ruined the houses completely all the way to the edge of the town. The edge of the roof in front of the cannon was gone too.

Buggy chuckled again, pumping his fist. "Flashy! One Buggy Ball Special is enough to blow an entire village away. With this power and the power from the devil fruit I will rule the Grand Line. Therefore, Nami." The cannon was reloaded and turned around. "Blow your old boss to bits and pieces and prove your loyalty to me! This is a test, so show us all you want to rule the world with us!"

Ruffy sat there, tied up inside a monkey cage, as the cannon aimed at her loaded with the same power as before. The pirates were cheering for what they knew was about to happen. From that life-threatening position Ruffy watched the other woman with calm eyes. Nami paled when she was forced to return to reality; she was dealing with pirates. Pirates didn't let anyone get away alive.

"Kill her… me…?" Nami turned to the clown, hoping she would be able to avert the attention from the girl in the cage. She had to think fast. She had to find the key so that Rayla could escape. "No, but captain Buggy… I don't have to… It… it's a party! That's right. Beer! Let's have more fun! Ignore that idiot."

Buggy looked down at her with sadistic amusement, his voice almost silky when he spoke. "This is my idea of fun, Nami. Kill her."

"Eh?"

"Fire!" the pirates cheered.

"Die hard, thief-boss!"

"Kill her flashily, newcomer!"

Nami was stuck. She felt frozen, petrified. How could she have been so stupid? Why were all pirates like this; so willing to kill other people just because they could? Nami had only wanted the treasure, and using Rayla had seemed like such a good idea. How could it have backfired like this? How did she get out of it? If she didn't kill Rayla then the pirates would, no doubt. But if she didn't light the fuse then both of them would die.

Over the noise of the pirates cheering, a calm voice suddenly broke through Nami's thoughts. "You're shaking."

The thief looked up. Inside the cage Rayla was gazing at her with such calmness and a challenging curve of a smile on her face.

"I thought so. You have no idea what you're dealing with. Just look, this is what happens when you face pirates when not prepared."

"Prepared?" Nami gritted her teeth as anger welled up inside her, momently pushing at the rising panic she felt. "Prepared to do what? Kill other people like it's nothing? Is that what pirates are prepared for?"

"No."

"Oi, newcomer! Stop taking your time!" the pirates yelled.

Ruffy grinned. "You're not prepared to risk your life."

Nami felt like her insides had just turned to ice. A lot of emotions were colliding inside her heart.

An impatient pirate suddenly snatched the matches from Nami's hand, startling her.

"Stop wasting time, newcomer. Don't you know how to blow the cannon?" he asked and lightened a match. "Look here. You light a match and put the flame against the fuse like this to light it," the clown pirate showed how, actually trying to be helpful to the new girl. Being knocked out from a hard blow to the back of his head he wasn't prepared for.

The crowd silenced.

"Nami!" Buggy roared. "What the hell are you doing? After I welcomed you as my comrade and all!"

Ruffy leaned forward to get a better look.

"Are you going to save me now?" she asked.

"Shut it!" Nami yelled back at her. "That was a reflex. I didn't want to… I didn't even for a second want to stoop as low as a pirate! Pirates killed the one I loved the most! I don't want to be like them."

"Oh, so that's why…" Sparks caught Ruffy's eye. "Aaaaahhhh! Fire in the hole! Put it out! Put it out!"

Ruffy started bouncing around inside the cage to make it move, tilt to the side, anything to get her out of the line of fire. She didn't have time to notice what happened outside the cage. But she did hear Nami's yelp of pain and looked up. She had put out the fuse with her bare hands, and up behind her four clowns armed with knives were coming down.

Ruffy banged her head against the bars. "Nami, watch out!"

The thief glanced over her shoulder, saw the blades and closed her eyes to her fate.

The most amazing thing with people lacking a sense of direction is that they always show up in the right place at the right time. The clown pirates never reached the thief girl. Something, or rather someone suddenly stood in their way.

"How many of you are charging one girl?"

"Zoro!" Had Ruffy ever been so happy to see someone before in her life? She didn't know, and didn't really care. Zoro was here and she was overjoyed to see him.

Nami opened her eyes. She wasn't dead, wasn't even in pain. There was a shadow over her though and she looked up. Behind her stood a man with a broad back and green hair glancing down at her over his shoulder.

"You hurt?"

She blinked. "What?"

"Are you hurt anywhere?" the man asked again.

"N… no. I'm fine."

Ruffy smiled brightly. "Yokatta! How did you find me? Let me out of here."

Zoro turned to the cage and gave her an incredulous gaze. "Ruffy, what are you doing? First a bird comes and takes you away, and when I finally find you, you're in a cage? Dumbass."

"Yes. It's actually quite funny," the girl laughed.

The swordsman sighed and shook his head. Taking another glance at the girl he had saved he noticed a certain detail.

"Oi. Why do you have the Kitetsu?"

"The Kitu… what?"

Putting his own katana back in his belt Zoro simply took the sword he knew was Ruffy's straight from this girl's belt, causing a sharp sound of offence.

"This isn't something you can just have," the swordsman said and turned, about to pass a man dressing in bright cloths and sporting a red nose as big as an apple.

The dark chuckle of Buggy the clown rang in Zoro's ears. "Pirate hunter Zoro. Did you come for my head?"

"No," the swordfighter answered bluntly. "I don't want your ugly head. I quit hunting pirates."

"Too bad," Buggy chuckled as he took out some knives hidden in his coat "because I want yours. If I kill you I'll be famous."

"Don't try it, you'll just die."

Ruffy watched with wide eyes. That clown seemed very confident in defeating Zoro, who in turn was overconfident in his own ability. The clown pirates cheered for their captain.

Ruffy fidgeted. "Be careful, Zoro. That guy doesn't have a normal heartbeat."

Nami turned to her. "Normal heartbeat? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've heard it before, but I can't remember what it means," Ruffy whined helplessly.

Zoro and Buggy weren't paying attention. The swordsman threw Ruffy's katana towards her, but since she was still tied down she couldn't do anything to get it. She struggled against the rope, glancing at Shodai before locking her eyes at the two men. Her heart jumped when they both charged… and Zoro sliced the pirate captain to bits.

Everything stilled.

"Wow, he just fell apart," Ruffy said amazed and stared at the body parts. There was no blood. There were still… heartbeats… as from two hearts.

"There was no resistance to him at all," Zoro commented, sheathed his katana and walked up to the cage holding his captain, examining it carefully.

The clown pirates, strangely enough, were laughing quietly.

Ruffy stared fixatedly at the body parts of the supposedly defeated clown, mumbling to herself. "Two, two… double…"

"I'll need a key for this. Not even I can slice iron." There was no reply as Zoro's captain just kept staring at Buggy's body. "Ruffy?"

The pirates laughed harder. Something was strange. Zoro glanced suspiciously at them. "What the hell is wrong with you? Hand over the key to the cage."

The pirates just kept laughing, but over the noise Zoro heard Ruffy's voice growing louder.

"Double… beat… Wait. A double heartbeat! Just like Aki! Zoro, he's not dead! Two hearts means devil ability!"

"Wha…? Urg!"

It happened so suddenly, even though Ruffy had called out a warning. With surprise Zoro looked down at his hurting side where the tip of a blade stuck out. He turned to see who had stabbed him, only to get another unpleasant surprise. It was only a hand. A hand that floated around on its own!

"What the hell?!"

"Bara bara no mi."

"Huh?"

Ruffy, Zoro and Nami all watched with horror as the body parts of Buggy the clown floated back into place and the pirate was once again a whole body.

"That's the name of the devil fruit that I ate," Buggy announced with a mad grin. "Bara bara no mi, the Chop chop fruit, allowing me to come apart and come back together. No matter how much you cut me I will never die!"

Zoro growled at his own carelessness. So that was the trick. He had been told this guy had eaten a devil fruit. What a fool he had made of himself right in front of Ruffy. "Damn it!"

The clown tilted his head slightly, scrutinizing the damage he'd caused. "Seems like I didn't manage to kill you, Lolonoa Zoro, but it's a critical wound. You can't fight in that condition. I won!"

Inside her cage Ruffy was trembling and gritting her teeth with anger. Shodai lay sealed outside the cage and couldn't do a thing, Zoro had been cut down, Nami was scared and Ruffy herself sat inside a small cage!

"Attacking from behind is dirty! Bloody big nose!"

The immediate silence was tight and filled with choking sounds. The cheering clown pirates had almost swallowed their tongues. Ruffy happily realized she had stepped on a really sore toe, meaning one point to her advantage.

Buggy slowly turned his head, his face a picture of humiliated rage.

"Who did you call big nose!?" he screamed. His knife-armed hand loosened from his arm, going for the girl in the cage. The knife hit her face with such force she flew back into the bars behind her.

She only just heard Zoro's panicking voice calling her name over her teeth grinding against metal until the knife gave away and shattered. Looking up Ruffy locked her eyes on the clown pirate captain.

"Don't think I'll let you off, Buggy," she said and spat the blade out. "I'm gonna beat your sorry ass."

"Heh?" The pirate captain chuckled, and laughed. "Beat my ass, you say? You're hilarious! In case you didn't notice, you're confined in a cage! How are you going to beat me? All of you are going to die right here on the spot!"

Ruffy smirked. "I won't die! Run, Zoro!"

"What?"

Nami protested, saying something like Zoro having come to save her. Ruffy didn't listen too closely. She was sure Zoro could understand her.

_I won't die._

The swordsman smirked back. "Aye-aye captain."

"You won't get away, Lolonoa!"

Buggy attacked with his freely levitating hands and Zoro did his best to keep the knives away and hold his wound together at the same time. Cutting through the clown's body he managed to gain a few seconds, enough time for him to reach the cannon aiming at Ruffy.

Not noticing what the swordsman was up to, Buggy only chuckled and turned around. "You think you can escape captain Buggy? …Huh? Hey! Stop that! What are you doing?!"

Zoro had gotten in under the cannon and was pushing upwards. Nami backed away from it and Buggy hesitated. That cannon weighted almost a ton. It took three of his men to pull it forward on the wheels! Now it groaned in protest, but gave in and flipped over.

"Whaaaat?" Buggy flapped with his arms. Zoro's strength aside, the power within the cannon now aiming at him was worse! "No! Wait a minute! That cannon still has a Buggy Ball Special in it!"

Zoro turned to the tangerine-haired girl who stood gawking like a fool. "Light it!" he ordered her sharply.

"What?"

"Light the fuse!"

"Wha…? Oh. Ha… hai!"

Ruffy laughed in excitement. Nami found the discarded matches from before and quickly lightened the short fuse. The pirates screamed and tried to run. Buggy's flailing got worse.

"No! Wait! Stop! Stoooop!"

The cannon fired.


	8. Shushu

Since the chapter's so short, I update early. I've recieved a guess on Ruffy's devil fruit power, but I suppose it's still a bit too vauge to make a proper guess yet. I'm looking forward to see how long before someone sees through my baits and traps :)

Oh, and I wanted to update this yesterday. My apoligies but I'm way too easily distracted by all the other stuff I kinda have to do (cooking, cleaning, video games... 0_0'... scratch the last one...)

Well, I'm updating now. Enjoy the chapter :D

* * *

_**The little dog guarding its treasure**_

Ruffy was not satisfied with her situation. Even though she had just managed to wiggle free from the rope tying her, Zoro was hurt quite badly and they had the best chance they would ever get to run away now but Ruffy was stuck inside a cage! She could still hear the heartbeats of the pirates, so she knew they weren't dead, and as soon as the smoke cleared they would be stuck in the same situation as before, only with a lot angrier bunch of pirates against them. On the upside she had Shodai back with her. It felt better, even if the katana wasn't too happy about the last hour. Hopefully Ruffy wouldn't have to make it up to her.

Zoro was wounded, yes, hurting like hell, yes, angry, definitely, but that wouldn't stop him. After having embarrassed himself the way he had he couldn't afford to make it even worse a fiasco now or it would really cost them their lives. He was going to get away and take his captain along if it killed him.

Holding his bleeding side, Zoro moved away from the cannon over to the cage holding Ruffy. "This is our chance," he said, and from the corner of his eye he caught sight of the still dumbfounded girl he'd saved earlier looking around indecisively. "Who are you?" he asked the girl.

She jerked and looked at him, blinking as she tried to regain full control of her thoughts. "Huh? Me? I… I'm a thief."

Ruffy smiled at Zoro from inside the cage. "She's our navigator," she informed.

"Am not! If you have time to be carefree at a time like this, try thinking up a way to get out of that cage!"

Zoro smirked. "Don't bother. You just stay in the cage."

"Huh?"

Both girls shivered as the swordsman took a hold on the cage and started tilting it backwards and put his leg under the bottom, muscles taut and veins standing out as he prepared to lift the little prison off the ground. A cage made of iron and stone with a person inside.

Nami's chest felt tight and some uncontrolled part of her brain tried to calculate how much that cage weighted. Surely more than a ton.

Ruffy's hands grabbed the bars tighter as she tensed, but her voice was soft, almost pleading. "Zoro… stop. You'll bleed to death."

"Let me bleed."

"What are you doing?" Nami gasped with disbelief.

"I do whatever I want. Don't butt in." Zoro groaned in pain and stress as he hoisted the cage up on his shoulder.

Nami's eyes immediately drew to the wound in the swordsman's side, watching the blood flow faster, almost sprouting due to the enormous strain it took to lift the cage. The sight both upset and amazed her greatly. This was a pirate, but he was hell-bent on trying to save Rayla.

But Ruffy couldn't stand the sight. She reached out between the bars and used her hands to cover Zoro's wound best she could to stop the bleeding.

The thief watched them leave with her heart still beating fast and hard. For the first time in her life a pirate had made a good impression on her.

* * *

They got away. Somehow they had managed to get away. After only a block Zoro had had to put the cage down and now pulled it along with his captain in it through the streets as far from the clown pirates as he could, but he was running low on blood despite Ruffy's desperate tries to stop the bleeding. That other girl, their navigator Ruffy had said, hadn't come with them though. Zoro half-heartedly hoped she was okay.

Ruffy, pissed for more reasons than one, was angrily shaking the bars, trying to find one, only one that was a little looser than the others. Zoro didn't have much more strength to muster. He had to stop.

Groaning he tried to take at least one more step. "You think this is far enough, Ruffy?"

"They aren't looking for us this way," the girl hissed, still shaking bars.

Zoro took it as a sign it was okay to rest here, so he dropped the cage and collapsed. "Damn," he cursed. "I don't have enough blood. Can't take another step. Ack!"

At the sound of Zoro's gasp, Ruffy stopped her task and spun around to see what happened with her friend.

"What's with this dog?" Zoro wondered out loud.

"Dog?" Ruffy lifted her gaze to where Zoro was looking. "Oh, it's a dog."

A little dog was indeed seated beside the road. Now that Ruffy had free arms and legs she managed to (with great effort) roll the cage closer to the dog without Zoro's help.

It was a grey little dog, with red lines and patches in the fur. Probably blood. Ruffy stared at it. It didn't stare back. It just sat there with its tongue hanging out of its mouth.

"Is this really a dog?" Ruffy wondered aloud. "It's not moving at all."

"Whatever," Zoro said as he found something he could rest against and keep an eye on his captain at the same time. "Let the dog be. How are we going to get you out of the cage?"

"None of them are loose enough," Ruffy shared thoughtfully. "I could bend the bars if I put some back into it, but it chokes me and I don't like that."

Zoro huffed. "Saying strange things again. How am I supposed to interpret that?"

Instead of answering, Ruffy just pointed to her neck. Zoro thought she meant the scar, but didn't have the energy to talk anymore. He could ask her to clarify later.

The girl in the cage tilted her head from side to side, staring at the animal in front of her. This dog was funny. Ruffy hadn't seen a lot of dogs before, but compared to the ones she remembered, this one could be considered ugly. It had ruffled grey fur, a long face and small eyes, it even had short legs and not a very elegant shape of body. Ruffy reached out a hand to the dog's nose. It didn't move. Taking it as a sign it was okay to pat it, she reached out and patted its neck where it didn't have any wounds. The dog glanced sideways at Ruffy's arm, but that was all it did.

Its fur was thick and a bit rough.

"I like this dog," Ruffy declared.

"Good for you. Now get out of the cage," Zoro repeated himself, now too tired to even keep his eyes open. That is until he heard footsteps and a female voice that wasn't Ruffy's.

"What are you two doing? If you just lay around here they'll find you in no time."

The duo looked up. "Oh, navigator," they said in union.

"Can you stop that!?" The girl sighed hopelessly. "I just came to repay my debt. After all, you saved my life back there."

"Repay?"

Nami threw a little piece of metal on the ground before the cage.

Ruffy's face brightened considerably when she noticed what it was. "A key!" she exclaimed happily. "You stole the cage key!"

Nami sighed quietly. "Yes. It was very stupid of me. Because of that I couldn't steal any of the treasure."

Well, Ruffy was a lot happier with the key to the cage than some treasure and she smiled her sunniest smile at the thief. "Thank you! You're the best! I was getting kind of worried for a moment there."

"That's a great reward for such a difficult escape," Zoro agreed.

The pirate girl laughed happily, but just as she reached for the key, it disappeared as something grey with a black nose snatched it before her. She looked up with a blank face at the furry animal outside the cage and watched as the little grey dog swallowed the key whole.

It was silent for three seconds before Ruffy responded.

"BLOODY DOG! Baka, baka, baka! That's not food! Cough it up! Spit it out! Poop it out! Stupid dog! Retch! Give it back! Let me out! Baka, baka, baka, baka!"

Even if Zoro already knew Ruffy was kind of energetic, her reaction now was quite impressive. The entire cage jumped as she shook the dog with all her might with her hands around its throat.

Both Zoro and Nami was about to try to separate the pair, but an old, demanding voice beat them to it.

"You brats! Don't bully Shushu!"

Ruffy heard, and she stopped fighting the dog and held it away from her, even while the dog kept on barking and kicking. "Shushu?"

Walking up to them was an old man wearing some sort of wooden armour with a spear in his hand.

Zoro had put a hand on his swords, not that he was in a state where he could use them, but it felt comforting.

"Who are you, old man?" he asked, hearing the weariness in his own voice.

"I am the chief of this town, Boodle is my name. Hm?" The elderly man looked down at the swordsman and noticed the blood, and immediately his voice became concerned and gentle. "Oh my, that doesn't look very good, young'un. Have you been fighting Buggy and his gang? There is a doctor at the shelter outside of town, let's get you there."

Zoro weakly waved away the helping hand reaching for him. "No. I can't leave this girl that far behind," he said and nodded to the caged girl.

"Oh, I see. But she should be pretty safe in there for now. We should still get that wound of yours treated." the chief turned to Ruffy. "Girl, are you harmed?"

"My pride is, ever since they put me in here," Ruffy confessed with a knock on the stony roof of the cage. "Otherwise, nothing that serious."

"That's good." The old man turned back to Zoro and grabbed his arm. "Come on then, young'un. You girl, can you help me?"

Nami made an affirmative sound and she and the chief took Zoro under the arms and half carried half pulled him into one of the houses.

The chief led the way into the bedroom and brought out a first aid kit from under the bed. "I can bandage the wound, but that will be the end of my knowledge. Our doctor is quite capable so I will fetch him for you."

"No, I just have to sleep," Zoro insisted.

"Oh, you young'uns of today. That girl in the cage, is she someone important to you?"

Zoro scoffed slightly, his eyelids feeling heavier by the second just from being on a bed. "I suppose. I'm stuck with her anyways. Coming to save her and this is how I end up. So troublesome. This far she's just managed to get into trouble. As if I can leave her alone when she is like that."

The old man hummed thoughtfully. The bright-haired girl helped by supporting the swordsman's body as Boodle bandaged the wound.

It was caused by a blade he could tell, one that had stabbed all the way through to the other side. This young'un was lucky the blade had missed the vitals, albeit barely. Boodle wished he was able to tell whether the wound needed sewing or not. Hopefully the extra paddings would stop further bleeding.

"There," the old man said when he was done. "This is all I can do for you, but I would really prefer it if you let the doctor take a look."

"No. I'll feel better once I've slept for a while."

Knowing a stubborn teenager when he saw one, Boodle only shook his grey head. "Sleep tight then, young'un," he said to the already sleeping figure and left the house with the bright-haired girl short on his heels.

They came back to where the cage and the dog still sat, but inside the cage the girl was making strangled noises.

Boodle immediately grew worried. "Oi, oi. Little girl, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," the little one gasped and coughed. "I tried to bend the bars to get out of this cage, but I choked. My wounds aren't completely healed yet so… How is Zoro?"

"The young'un is sleeping. My house is just next door, but he refuses to see a doctor."

"He never liked doctors," the girl said with a laugh. "I'm Ruffy, by the way."

Nami frowned in confusion. "Ruffy? You told me your name is Rayla."

"Oh yes, that's my real name, but my friends call me Ruffy."

Friends. Nami hoped the stab in her heart wasn't visible on her face. Rayla's inviting smile… it felt like she was getting pulled it, and it scared her almost out of her wits.

The dog was a good change of topic. "This dog, what did you call it, chief?"

"Shushu. A little rascal if you ask me," the old man answered easily.

"What's she doing here?" Ruffy asked.

"Guarding the store."

Both girls blinked. "Store?" they asked lifted their gazes to the sign above the door the chief entered. Ruffy couldn't see very well from inside the cage but it wasn't that easy with the stone roof she had.

"Hey, there was a store here," Nami declared as she noticed it. "Pet food huh?"

Those words had Ruffy gawk at the other girl. "Pet food? There are stores that sell food only for pets?!"

Nami looked down into the caged girl's baffled face with surprise. "Yes. There are a few of them out there."

How Ruffy took in that information was hard to tell with the face she pulled. She could be either thoughtful or annoyed or both. "How lucky you are, dog," she murmured to the animal. It yawned at her.

The chief came out of the store with a bowl of pet food in his hands and put it down in front of the dog.

"The storeowner was a good friend of mine," the old man told the girls as he sat on the stairs to the entrance adn took out a pipe from his pocket. "I'm feeding her in his place."

"In his place?" Nami repeated with a tilted head.

The chief lightened his pipe and sucked on it, looking somewhat forlorn. "Yes. He passed away three months ago due to an illness. But he and Shushu ran this store for ten years. To them it's full of memories. I too am quite attached to it."

"Oh… could it be…" Nami went over the possibilities in her head. "Is the dog waiting for master to come back home?"

Boodle shrugged. "So they say, but I don't think so."

Nami blinked. "Huh? You don't?"

The old man blew a smoke ring in the air and watched as it dispersed in the air. "Shushu is a smart dog. She probably knows her master is dead."

Even though Nami found this subject quickly going down a path she hadn't expected and really didn't want it to, she still heard herself keep asking questions. "Then why?"

It was Ruffy who answered. "Because the store is a treasure for her."

The pair outside the cage stared at the occupant inside it. Ruffy had her eyes closed and leaned against the bars, the smile on her face gentler than any Nami had seen on her before.

"I like it, the sound of this house," she said and turned her eyes to the chief. "It resounds in the dog's heart too. A lot of warm memories. He had a nice laugh, that old man."

"Hm? Yes, he liked to laugh, and Shushu used to laugh along." The old man glanced curiously at the girl inside the cage. "How did you know, girl? Have you been here before?"

"Nope, but I can hear heartbeats. This town is full of home hearts, but this store has the strongest heartbeat."

"Is that so?" Boodle voiced and accepted the answer. "Well, I don't know much about that sort of thing. But you are quite right. Maybe my friend's heart lingers in this store. Animals are sensitive to that sort of supernatural stuff I have heard." He breathed out smoke and glanced down at the little dog licking the bowl clean. "Look at her wounds. She must have fought the pirates only to protect the store."

"Against the pirates?!" Nami exclaimed. "Isn't that a bit too much? I mean… if the owner is dead…"

"Yes, that's exactly why Shushu guards the store," the old man cut her off gently. "It's all she has left of her precious master, that's why she protects it with her life." He sighed heavily. "She's such a little rascal. I've tried to evacuate her numerous times but she won't move from this spot. If I didn't come to feed her she'd starve to death."

Ruffy's ears perked at a new sound entering them. "It's about time you two started running," she said out of the blue.

Both Nami and Boodle gave her funny looks. "Huh? Why?"

A roar echoed between the houses.

"Because someone is coming," the pirate girl answered matter-of-factly.

Nami wasn't quite listening. "What's with that roar?" she squeaked.

"It's the beast-tamer Moji! Run for your life!" the chief screamed, turned his tail and fled.

Nami was too happy to follow his example. She and Boodle ran as fast as their legs could carry them and hid a few houses away. Ruffy, still confined in the cage without any way out glared at the dog in front of her. It had finished its lunch and placed the bowl on top of the stairs to the shop.

"Hey, somebody's coming. Cough up the key and let me out, stupid dog."


	9. You are unforgiveable

So. Here's a new chapter, but first. I have recived a fair share of remarks on my choice of spelling Zoro's name. So I'll explain it now and hope you will not tell me on it again (please).

So, let me get this straight; You all are used to the spelling Roronoa Zoro. That's perfectly fine. Now we get to the interesting part; I think most of you knows I'm from Sweden, which makes things a little complicated since I've read a different translation of the manga. About Zoro's name, and Ruffy's too for that matter; R and L is the same sound for Japanese person and therefore I think all of us who aren't of English speaking orgin got used to their own spelling of the names. I shanged Luffy's name to Ruffy mostly to separate her from the male original (and because I just couldn't figure out how Laila/Leyla could transform into Luffy...) For Zoro's part (btw; the first ever English translation I heard of his name was Zolo, just so you know) There is one particular reason I choose "Lolonoa" though. Try saying it out loud to yourselves and you'll find out "Lolonoa" is a smooth sound while "Zoro" is sharp. Smooth and sharp, just like the katana he weilds.

So, do we understand each other? Good. Then I won't keep you anymore. Please enjoy reading :)

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_**Some things are just unforgiveable**_

Nami and chief Boodle peeked at the situation outside the pet food store with their hearts in their mouths. Ruffy didn't seem worried about the fact a giant growling lion was peering hungrily into her cage. In fact she was making fun of the guy sitting on the lion's back; "Beast-tamer Moji," the chief called him.

Nami couldn't care less about the enemy's name at that moment, being more concerned about his facial expressions saying he was losing temper.

"Stop ticking him off!" the thief frantically whispered to Ruffy, though she most certainly couldn't hear her. "Does she want to die? That foolish…!"

"What an idiot. She shouldn't be so reckless," Boodle agreed, shaking in his sandals.

They couldn't really hear what Ruffy was saying, but the lion rider's voice carried to them clearly; "Tell me where Lolonoa Zoro is."

To which Ruffy loudly replied; "Eat crap. No chance."

Nami thought she would die herself just hearing it.

The beast-tamer snickered before he jumped off the lion's back. "Charge, Richie!" he shouted.

The response was immediate. With a roar the lion jumped the cage and tore it open within seconds.

"Impossible!" Nami protested. Even though the lion was so big it shouldn't be able to tear open a cage with stone walls and iron bars! Stone and iron for crying out loud! It just shouldn't be able to do it!

The chief squeaked. "Oh no! That girl will be eaten!"

Ignorant of the obvious danger Ruffy happily hopped out of the broken cage, and was hit in the side so that she flew into and through one of the houses with a loud crash.

"Tell me I didn't just see that," Nami pleaded to the old man at her side.

"I'm sorry, I can't," the chief whispered solemnly, his eyes watching the new hole in one of the houses second floor.

Sighing quietly Boodle closed his eyes with a heart that felt cold and heavy. He was an old man, seventy already, and yet again he was forced to see a young person be killed before his eyes. That little girl had hardly even started living.

Boodle turned away from the sight outside the pet shop where the lion and Shushu were growling at each other. The chief's old heart hurt even more when he heard the poor dog whine in pain. He could only hope Shushu wasn't about to be eaten and that Moji and the lion just pass everything by.

Why? Why had the pirates come to his town? Why was everyone he loved getting hurt? Why couldn't he do anything?!

But he had to keep up hope. Surely God couldn't be so cruel as to let a young girl die like that. "Let's walk around the block. If that girl by some miracle survived she must be badly injured."

Nami couldn't argue, although the barks and yelps from the dog cut into her heart, and she followed the old man through the backstreets. She could admit to herself she felt sorry about Rayla. Even if that girl was a pirate she hadn't deserved to die. Not like that.

They rounded a corner and found pieces of wood and furniture spread around the ground. Nami bit her lip and didn't want to take a step closer to the debris. So Rayla had been thrown through the entire house. Who knew in what condition her body...?

"Found it!"

Nami and Boodle both almost swallowed their tongues at the outburst and the sight of the lean body of no other than Ruffy, seemingly perfectly fine, jumping up from behind an armchair holding up her straw hat.

Boodle found his voice first. "How can you still be alive, girl?" he yelled.

"Why aren't you dead?" Nami asked almost at the same time.

The girl gave them a hurt look. "Can't I live?"

"Y… yes you can, but that's beside the point here," Nami said, trying to recompose herself. "You just got hit by a lion that tore open that _iron cage_ and you flew _through_ a whole house and you're _fine_!? How come you're not hurt?"

"I'm hurt. Look." Ruffy lifted her tank top and showed that the side of her belly was bruising around shallow marks from the lion's claws. "That lion sure hit hard. This is gonna make a bruise. Good thing I have Shodai. She covered me through the house."

Nami felt like strangling the other girl. "For the hundredth time, that's just a sword. Don't be so damn strange."

Ruffy flinched and her head whipped around, looking towards the house she had smashed through. Nami noticed the suddenly frightened look on the other girl's face and a feeling of ill foreboding filled her.

Boodle stepped closer to them, eyes focused on Ruffy. "Hey, young girl. What is your purpose here? A little girl fighting Buggy and his gang, it's the same as suicide. What are you fighting for?"

"I'm not the only one fighting," the dark haired girl responded quietly. "That funny cap guy said he was looking for Zoro. Why is he attaking the dog's heart?"

"The dog's heart? Hey, wait." Nami caught a strong hold of the other girl's arm as she tried to run away. "I'm not done with you. First of all, I hope you're not intending to attack… that… lion?"

Ruffy was staring back with a startled face and wide golden eyes. Last time Nami checked, those eyes had been brown.

"Can't you hear it?" Ruffy asked urgently. "That dog is crying. Something is disappearing…"

"Disappearing? What are you talking about? What's up with your eyes? Wait!"

Before Nami could ask any more questions Ruffy yanked her arm free and ran off.

"Stop! Where are you going?"

Ruffy ignored the calls and ran in between the houses until she arrived to a brightly lit scene. The pet food store was on fire, and in front of it the little grey dog sat, barking and wailing.

_"While I'm at the hospital you look after the store, Shushu. Take care of yourself, Shushu."_

The old voice that had once belonged to the person Shushu loved the most was fading away, choked by the cracks of the fire. The last words the little dog had ever heard her master say pained her.

Shushu howled and barked, the blood several wounds colouring her coat more red than grey as she cried at the flames to stop eating her treasure.

Ruffy turned around and walked away, following the sound of the lion heart's high self-esteem. It hadn't come far, and that furry hat guy was still with it.

The straw hat girl followed the sound of their hearts in silence, not even thinking clearly as she leisurely walked the streets before stopping right in the path of the lion with her arms crossed.

The lion stopped when it saw her, sniffing in the air, and growled in confusion. It's master's eyes widened.

"You?" The furry hat guy made an angry grimace, gritting his teeth. "Didn't I just…? I killed you just a moment ago!"

Ruffy snorted. "You can't kill me. Compared to some other people I've fought, you're just a kitty cat."

The furry hat guy chuckled, resembling his captain. "You've got luck, girl. But I think you hit your head. Before I kill you properly. Where is Lolonoa Zoro?"

"You don't have to ask me again, I still won't tell you."

The pirate shrugged. "Have it your way then. Richie, bite her head off!"

What happened next is hard to describe. Moji could hardly believe his own eyes as he watched. Richie leaped for the skinny girl, ready to follow orders, but the human girl kicked up into Richie's chin so that the lion was airborne. The girl then jumped up over Richie's head, spun around to gain more power and hit again, hard enough to crush the animal's head down into the cobblestone street.

Moji gaped. It had happened so fast. That little girl moved so fast it was hard to follow her movements with the naked eye. Now his pet, his lion, his only true strength, was defeated.

"What…? What the hell are you?! Richie!"

The girl had her back turned to him in a kneeling position after landing and her voice was dark. "I'm just like your captain; a pirate with devil powers."

"Captain?" Moji fought hard to comprehend. What had the girl just said? How could one be just like his captain…?! "Devil…?! You… you mean you ate the devil fruit, just like Captain Buggy?"

The girl slowly slowly stood, eyes shadowed by the brim of her straw hat, not answering. Her profile was more intimidating than any words could ever be. It was like a fire was burning wildly, like a hungry beast. Moji should know. He had seen many beasts in his life, yet this scrawny little human girl was scarier than any wild animal.

Moji waved his arms in front of him hoping this girl knew about parlay. "Okay, I get it. Let's take it easy. I'll apologize for all that happened. Please forgive me!"

Ruffy bit her tongue. Sun's voice from only months ago echoed in her mind.

_"Listen to me, Ruffy. As long as he doesn't sincerely apologize directly to you, you have no reason to forgive him."_

"You can't apologize to me," Ruffy stated lowly.

"Huh?"

"It's too late now. Her heart is crying because you destroyed her treasure, and it won't come back." She glared at him with her wide golden eyes and a cold flame about her. "Even if you apologize, some things are just unforgivable."

Moji screamed and tried to escape when his enemy took a run towards him, but she was a lot faster and a blow to the back of Moji's head caused him to collide with the ground, almost making a crack on his skull.

"That's less of a beating than you deserve," Ruffy said to the unconscious pirate. "Weakling."

She was just about to go back to the burning pet food store when she noticed something on the ground. A box with a dog face on that said "Pet food". Picking it up and listening closely Ruffy could tell it was an item from the store and she smiled with relief.

"Don't worry. You haven't lost everything, dog."

She eagerly stood up, and almost immediately fell back down with a gasp and clutched her chest tightly. The pain was so intense she felt faint.

"Damn. I didn't think it'd be this bad. What a mean guy doing this to me." Ruffy took a deep breath, feeling how the pain expanded and then eased a little. She continued the process until she could at least stand up. "It's alright, Sun. I won't die. Don't worry."

A bit slower than she wanted, Ruffy walked back towards the dog and the store. Or at least what used to be a store. When she came back it was only a hissing heap of ashes glowing charcoal.

"Well, well, what have we here?" Ruffy looked away from the pile of ash and burnt wood towards a pissed off navigator snarling at her. "So you're still alive, miss pirate? I thought you had enough brains to be eaten by that lion." Finishing that calmly spoken sentence Nami dashed forward, her eyes full of rage and her arms reached out to strangle the unmoving straw hatted girl. "I'll kill you, pirate! Before you gather a crew and start ruining people's lives I'll kill you right here and now!"

"Hold it, young lady!" Boodle held the angered thief back.

"I don't want to fight you," Ruffy stated bluntly and walked by them both. Her response did nothing to ease Nami's temper though. On the contrary actually.

"What did you say!?" Nami screamed, fighting Boodle's desperate grasp. "Come back here and say that again if you dare! I'll rip your tongue out you bloody pirate!"

Ruffy put down the pet food box in front of the dog, and collapsed, enveloping the animal with her body. The hat fell off Ruffy's black head when she fell.

For a few seconds everything was quiet. Nami and Boodle had stilled, staring at the sight in front of the burnt down pet food store.

"I looked," Ruffy started quietly, "but that's all I could find. Suppose the lion ate what it wanted and burnt the rest. Quite mean, huh?"

The dog said nothing. She only sat there and stared at the box, but Ruffy could hear it. Inside the little dog's heart the pain slowly subsided. It would probably never vanish, but it could at least become bearable.

"You fought well," the pirate girl said smiling. "I didn't see you, but I think I know. You really are as awesome as your master said you are. And at least… something small like this will be easier to protect right? So don't lose it."

A heavy rock fell from the dog's heart and she accepted the gift. She took it in her mouth, jumped over Ruffy's waist and walked away, but before she turned a corner she stopped and turned back.

"Woof!"

Ruffy laughed and turned onto her back. "Sure. Good luck to you too!"

The dog seemed to smile as she barked back, took the box and disappeared from sight.

Ruffy sighed and relaxed. The pain in her chest had finally subsided to the dull throbbing she'd felt ever since she woke up beside Coby, but she still felt weak from the attack. She wondered if she would have to live with it from now on or if it would fade away. It would be good if it disappeared. Then she wouldn't have to worry about it exploding inside her during a battle.

"Ruffy."

Blinking her eyes open against the light Ruffy noticed Nami standing over her with a somewhat awkward smile and lifted up a hand in apology.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you."

The dark-haired girl smiled back in understanding. "I don't mind. The people who were mean to you were pirates, is all. No hard feelings."

The thief returned the smile with her own, lopsided one. "Are you hurt?" she asked.

"Yeah. That stupid bear really tried to kill me. It will probably take some time before I'm completely fit. Hope it doesn't take too long."

"Bear? Don't you mean lion? Oddball."

The girls smiled at each other, before their bubble suddenly popped from the voice of a suddenly furious chief Boodle.

"I'VE HAD ENOOOOUUUUUUGHHHH!" he screamed as he threw his fists and spear into the air. "I can't just sit around any longer. Shushu and a little girl are fighting so bravely and here am I, the chief of this town, doing nothing as my town is trampled."

Nami lifted her hands in what she hoped was a calming motion. "Ch… chief. Wait. Please calm down," she tried to reason, but Boodle had reached his limit. He wouldn't let the pirates everything he held dear. Not again. Not as long as he was still breathing.

He turned burning eyes towards the young girl watching him from the ground. Her eyes were calm and strong at the same time. Boodle could tell she understood how he felt. "There are battles you just can't back down from. What do you think, girl? Aren't I right?"

"You're every bit right, old man," Ruffy smirked up at him from her position on the ground.

"Don't encourage him, stupid!" Nami whined.

"It started forty years ago," the old man told them with nostalgia mixing into his voice, "When we arrived there was nothing but barren wasteland here. We decided to start over and rebuild the town we had lost to pirates. Now look!" he cried out and held his arms out and tilting his head back as if he was showing off a great monument. "A whole town grew up from nothing! This place is built by us elders with our own hands! It took forty years for all of this to come to be! That's why this town and its people are my treasure!"

"Chief!"

"I'm going to fight! I'll pick up arms against Buggy the clown!"

An explosion caused the two standing to fall to the ground along with a large number houses. They should consider themselves lucky the blast had missed them with only a few yards as they stared at the destruction.

"Look. Even my house is a pile of debris now."

"Your house?" Ruffy rolled over and at least managed to push herself into a half sitting position supported by her arms. "That's where Zoro was sleeping!"

They looked at the smoke and dust rising from the destroyed houses.

"Did he die, that boy with the haramaki?" Boodle asked quietly, mostly to himself.

"Zoro!" Ruffy cried. "Zoro, can you hear me?!"

Boodle closed his eyes as Ruffy's pleading cries twisted the knife in his heart. Another one. Yet another young one had died and now this young girl was...

A groan was heard through the smokescreen and the chief opened his eyes wide. Could it be? The boy was alive? After having a house fall over him? Could such miracles actually happen?

There was a noice of wood and roof tiles moving as the three onlookers watched as a shadow sat up and rubbed its head.

"I hear you, Ruffy. Damn, if this was your idea of a fun way to wake me up I'll throw you into the sea."

The girl pirate let out a breath and fell back down, lying in a rather uncomfortable looking heap. "That's fine, as long as you're alive."

The swordsman groaned as he stood up and patted dust from his shirt, perfectly fine save the wound he'd suffered before the house fell over him.

Boodle decided he did believe in miracles. Still. If this boy hadn't had this sort of luck, then a young girl would have lost her dear friend.

Because of Buggy the Clown!

Zoro yawned widely and looked around. The first thing he really noticed was Ruffy lying on the ground. "What happened to you?" he asked.

Ruffy just smiled up at him. "That's a long story. Tell you later."

"That's a long story. Tell you later."

"I won't allow this to happen!"

Surprised by the outburst Zoro lifted his gaze to that geezer from before who was now boiling over with anger… and helplessness. The old man went on about pirates being cowardly bastards that had no right to destroy so forty years of hard work. Seemed like things had happened while he slept. Well, Zoro wasn't about to complain. He didn't really care what this old man was furious about and what he wanted to protect. The geezer wanted to fight Buggy, and Zoro wasn't the type of man to let up on a fight. Casting one glance at Ruffy Zoro knew she felt the same.

The chief lifted his spear high in the air and cried; "Attack!" and tried to dash away, but Nami grabbed a hold on the old man's armour and held him back.

"Please stop, chief. It's suicide to attack them alone!"

"I know it is suicide."

And so the old man ran off. Behind he left a stunned navigator and two smirking pirates.

"Seems like things are getting heated up," Zoro said, unable to contain his amusement.

"Damn straight," Ruffy giggled and managed to stand.

Angrily Nami spun around to face them. "How can you laugh at a time like this? The chief intend to die!"

"He won't die," Ruffy assured, patted dirt off her clothes and looked around for her hat. "I like that old geezer. There's no way I'll let him go down." She found the hat and dusted it off.

Nami growled in frustration. Didn't Rayla know she was a girl? It didn't matter if she had that sword or if she was good at fighting, she couldn't take down an entire pirate crew on her own. "What exactly do you think you can do? You're injured too!"

"Not so badly it will affect a fight against that clown." Ruffy deadpanned, placed the straw hat on her head and turned to the tangerine-haired girl, eyes burning almost challengingly. "Our destination is the Grand Line, and to go there we need the chart in Buggy's possession." She held out her hand. "Come on and join us, Nami. You want that chart and the treasure too, don't you?"

The thief pouted a bit. She was being pulled in, she knew that. But for now she supposed she could follow the stream.

"I won't become a pirate," she assured with emphasis and slapped her palm against Ruffy's, "so let's say we're working together against a common enemy."

Ruffy smiled happily at her. "Perfect. Let's go, Zoro."

"Aye captain," the swordsman agreed, still smirking and fell in behind Ruffy.

Nami gaped. "What? Why you? You're wounded!"

"No. It's all healed up."

"Like hell it has!"

Zoro pointedly ignored Nami's worry and tied his black bandana around his head, his lust for a fight clear to see on his face. "Sorry, but my name is suffering worse than my gut. Let's get this party started."

The thief gave in, knowing she was defeated. There was just no way to reason with pirates. "Good grief. You're both mad."

Ruffy whistled a low tune that sent strange vibes down Nami's spine. She felt slightly weaker to her knees and yet boosted with energy.

"We'll show those clowns who rules," Ruffy grinned and cracked her knuckles.


	10. vs The Buggy Pirates

I'll let you know that this chapter caused me trouble, at the same time I thank those of you who sent their opinions on my using the Japanese or English translation of Buggy's attacks. I've decided to keep Zoro's attacks in Japanese due to all of them being food puns and I kind of like that (since I have the opportunity to finally use it for a joke ;P) From now on, depending on the character as well as how the attack names sounds, I'm going to use the word that sounds the best. The reason is that some attacks are really hard to translate and even if you manage sounds dorky. I don't think I'll have much trouble in a long time. There are two I've already foreseen, but let's take them as they come :) Now my only hope is that this chapter is satisfactory.

For those of you waiting for the Star's last chapter; I'm working on it.

Enjoy, and please don't forget to review to let me know how I'm doing with this :D

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_**Battle! The Buggy pirates vs. The Straw Hat pirates**_

It was with a skip in her gait that Ruffy strolled through the streets towards the drinker bar where Buggy and his gang were hanging out. Zoro didn't rush either, and it made Nami near hysterical.

"Hey. Shouldn't we run? What if the chief is killed before we get there."

"He's in no danger of dying," Ruffy said reassuringly and hummed a little tune, as if she wasn't on her way to battle.

Nami couldn't really name what she felt getting mixed with her anxiety, but it wasn't something pleasant. "Just where does all that confidence come from? He's an old man!"

"Old is the oldest" Ruffy sang, ticking off Nami even more. "He's hanging in there quite well if you ask me."

Zoro huffed. "That's quite a useful ability you have, Ruffy."

"It is sometimes."

Nami quirked a suspicious eyebrow. "What ability?" she demanded to know.

They rounded a corner and in front of them the chief was floating a few inches above ground level, kicking with his legs. Ruffy quickened her pace to bring the old man back to earth.

Zoro turned to the thief girl to answer her question. "Ruffy told me she can hear heartbeats. I'm not sure what it means exactly, but that way she can tell who and where a person is."

Nami was about to retort, saying how ridiculous that sounded, but Buggy's voice echoed through the area. "So you came back here by your own will? This time I'll make sure to kill you all!"

"Whatever," Nami scoffed, deciding whatever Ruffy said about herself had nothing to do with the mission at hand, and she pointed at the swordsman. "You can fight all you want, but I'm going to collect the treasure."

"Suit yourself," Zoro shrugged, not caring either way.

"You little brats," a hoarse voice sounded.

The trio looked down at the wheezing chief. His voice was hoarse and he was rubbing his bruising throat. Ruffy had positioned herself in front of the chief, but from the old man's voice it wasn't a popular move. The glare he gave her only further proved how he liked them being there at all.

He growled at them. "This is my fight. Outsiders should stay out." He grabbed his spear from the ground and jumped to his feet, starting to walk by Ruffy, something _she_ didn't appreciate. "I'm the chief. I have to protect my own town!"

Without warning the pirate girl flung her arm out and sent the old man flying head first into a wall.

Nami gasped, watching with horror as the man fell into an awkward heap, unconscious. She turned furious eyes to Ruffy. "Wha… what did you do that for? He's the chief! An old man!"

"An old man in my way," the other girl answered lightly and cracked her knuckles.

"Good thinking," Zoro said. "He'd die for sure if we'd let him fight. He's safer like that."

Nami found she really couldn't argue with that, but still! "You didn't have to be that reckless!"

Ruffy turned to her friends as she stepped closer to the bar. "You two stand back. I'm gonna try something."

It was the look on her face that made Zoro grab the navigator and put a safe distance between them and his captain.

"What? What's she gonna do?" Nami wanted to know, or not, she wasn't sure.

Zoro just shook his head as he watched his captain's back. "I don't know, but I'm sure it's something crazy."

Ruffy inhaled as much as her lungs could expand and used all the air to scream; "BIG RED TOMATO NOOOOOOSSSSEEEE!"

Nami almost died. "You're right! She's crazy!"

It took Buggy a full ten seconds to regain enough of his senses to decide on an action and speak. "FIRE HARD! BUGGY BALL! BLOW THAT GIRL TO SMITHERIEES! DIE IN A FLASH!"

"I'm outta here!" Nami declared and turned on her heels as the cannon aimed at them and the fuse was lightened.

"Ruffy, watch out!" Zoro called and reached for his captain, feeling his heart jump into his mouth when he heard the boom of the cannon. They wouldn't make it.

But the girl didn't move. What she did do was a move unseen ever before in the East Blue; she rapidly spun around, caught the cannon ball flying and sent it straight back to its owner.

Buggy only had time to start screaming before the explosion cut him off. The whole building blew up.

Ruffy threw her arms in the air and cheered. "Yahoo! I always wanted to try that!"

Zoro sighed and rubbed his forehead in both relief and annoyance. "Warn me you can do things like that."

Nami hadn't gotten very far. Actually she had only taken a few steps before the cannon had fired and she turned to see what happened. Now her legs felt wobbly and gave in at Ruffy's display of a strength her skinny little body definitely shouldn't be able to host.

It was a little difficult to breathe with her heart pumping from the fright she just had, but Nami still managed to find the breath to yell. "Just what kind of monster are you?! What the hell was that?"

Ruffy turned around with a wide grin and stars in her eyes, giving her friends a thumb up. "Old bastard methods."

"Old bastard? What does that mean?" Nami jumped back to her feet and grabbed Ruffy by the shoulders. "I thought it was strange you could fight with that lion and come back alive! Are you even human? A scrawny little girl like you throwing back a _cannonball _shot from a_ cannon_! That's just not normal."

"I told you the old bastard taught me," Ruffy explained.

"Make sense when you talk!"

"I don't think she can," Zoro said with a wave of his hand.

Nami gritted her teeth and was about to say something more, but the sound of a now familiar voice stopped her.

"You little maggots."

They turned towards the rubble that once was a bar where the growling voice had come from. Now that the smoke was clearing they could see two people and the belly of a lion there.

Nami realized first what it was they saw. "His men? He used them as shields."

The lion was lowered to reveal a slim man in a blue coat, blue- and white scarf and a funny haircut standing behind it.

"We've never been this humiliated before, captain."

The other two people fell. Buggy stood there with his head lowered. "I'm so angry I can't find a word to say."

A third person stood from the debris, one with white hair and bear ears on top of his head. "Ouch. Damn, I must have fainted…" He looked up, rubbing his head and found his best friend unconscious in the hands of the crew's strategist. "Hey, Cabaji! What are you doing to my Richie?!"

"This kitten?" the man holding up the lion asked nonchalantly. "I didn't want my cloths to get dirty, so I used it as a shield." He threw the lion away from him with disinterest. Moji crawled over to his beloved lion and worriedly fussed over it. Richie was still alive, but badly burnt and wounded.

Beast-tamer Moji glared angrily at his fellow. "Cabaji, you freaking…" He paused, because he saw something familiar beyond the slim man that his poor Richie's body had covered from his view before. Standing a short distance away was a person he recognized. One he had returned to the base to warn his captain about, but his strength had failed him after struggling to carry Richie with him and he had collapsed before he could bring the news about the girl standing before them now.

"No! The straw hat! Not you! Captain Buggy, be careful. That girl has eaten a devil fruit too! She's super strong!"

Nami turned back to the other girl. "Devil fruit?"

"Yup."

"So you really have eaten a devil fruit," Zoro said with a slight smirk, pleased he'd guessed right.

Buggy stared into the eyes of the girl across of him. The straw hat on her head and the straightforward look in her eyes made her resemble a certain bastard that made his blood boil even hotter.

"So she's eaten a devil fruit. That would explain a few things," the clown captain mused mostly to himself before his freely flying hand grabbed his first mate around the collar. "Moji," he started calmly. "If you knew about that," Buggy threw his nakama towards Ruffy with a roar, "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO?!"

"I tried…!" Moji saw the straw hat girl standing in the course he was flying. "Get out of my way!" he cried at her.

"I'm already done with you," the girl scoffed, flung her arm out again and sent the guy flying into another wall. He fell into a graceless heap, unconscious. Ruffy snorted at him. "Stay down or you'll just die."

Someone was yelling, and when Ruffy spun around, the slim man seated on a unicycle and swinging a sword was coming at her fast.

"I am the strategist, Cabaji the acrobat!" he introduced himself.

Ruffy jumped backwards, and then Zoro stood in front of her blocking the attack.

"Swordfights are _my_ specialty," was all he said.

The acrobat backed away slightly, smirking with self-confidence. "I'm honoured, Lolonoa Zoro. To think I'll be the one to take you down."

Ruffy frowned worriedly as she glanced at her friend's side. Zoro had been too weak to move from the blood loss before, and now the wound Buggy had caused him had reopened.

"You sure about this, Zoro?" she asked cautiously.

"I'm sure. Get out of my way."

The girl only nodded and backed away. Zoro was grateful. Women didn't always understand what honour meant to a man.

"As expected of the great Lolonoa Zoro," the clown smirked. "As a swordsman, I would have lost my respect for you if you took help from a girl."

Zoro decided not to answer. Obviously this clown hadn't met many women in his life or he wouldn't have opened his ugly mouth.

The acrobat pulled his scarf down. "Have a taste of my Fire trick!"

He breathed fire! Zoro closed his eyes and staggered backwards, one arm up to protect his face. The next second all he could feel was a terrible pain in his side searing through his whole body. The surprise had him screaming before he realized what happened. That damn clown had kicked him!

"What's this? I didn't kick that hard, did I?"

That priggish voice. Zoro gritted his teeth as he tried to catch his breath enough to get up from the ground.

His enemy wouldn't let him though. "My next performance is," the acrobat stuck the tip of his sword into the dirt and waved his swords-arm around like a windmill. "Murder mist trick!"

"Not much of a performance," Zoro scoffed. "You're only pulling up dust."

A sword cut through the cloud and Zoro had to use both his swords to block it, which was difficult enough in his half-lying position, and he had no chance of avoiding the foot he saw from the corner of his eye once again aiming for his side.

'What the hell!'

It hurt. But even so; what was he doing?! Rolling around on the ground screaming like a loser. He had always known pirates played dirty.

'Fine,' Zoro thought angrily. 'If he wants to play the game that way, go ahead.'

The clown charged again. "You're mine! Lolonoa Zoro!"

He was right-handed, so Zoro dodged to his right and planted a good left hook in his opponent's face that threw him right off his annoying unicycle.

"Stop yapping, you dork. Is hitting my wounds really that much fun?"

Turning his sword around in his hand, Zoro cut his side open worse than it was before. It hurt more than he had expected, and the loss of blood had already started to get to him, but he had to endure. If he didn't, a life in shame was all that awaited him, and that was no future.

He glared at his enemy. "My sword will be the world's greatest," he stated firmly.

"What?" the acrobat voiced stupidly.

"Is this enough of a handicap for you?" Zoro went on and unsheathed Kuina's katana. "I'll prove that you and I aren't playing in the same dimension."

"Lolonoa Zoro. You are a fool," the clown acrobat said with heartfelt pity, easily kicking up his unicycle and getting back up on it.

"Whatever," Zoro snorted. "I won't allow myself to lose even once against someone who calls himself a swordsman." He bit down on the handle of his white katana.

The clown laughed. "Are you ambitious or just stubborn? I'll give you points for having willpower though. Don't worry; you couldn't win against me before you cut yourself, but if it makes you feel better you can use that wound as an excuse to have lost against me."

"Wrong." Zoro stood with a snarl. "If I lose to someone like you with a petty wound like this, nothing will become of me."

The acrobat growled. "Don't get so cheeky bastard. Have a taste of my best performance." He lifted his hands where he had gotten a few spin tops to spin on his palms. "One hundred cutting tops typhoon!" he cried and a storm of the spinning child toys came flying from his coat.

Zoro didn't know if she should snap or cry. 'Spin tops? Seriously?!' And this guy actually dared calling himself a swordsman?! Just because you could hold and swing a sword it didn't make you a swordsman! This guy wasn't even using the sword half of the time!

With the speed the tops came at him by Zoro could easily cut them. It hardly even hurt when the cut halves hit his body save the wounded area.

"Wall climbing!"

Zoro blinked. "What?"

When the spin tops stopped coming Zoro's opponent was not in front of him, but there was a strange shadow on the ground.

"Rising fireworks!"

Looking up Zoro found the acrobat high in the air and soon on his way down sword first.

"Cabaji. I'll hold him, so finish him off!"

Buggy's voice! Zoro turned and saw a hand without the rest of the body coming at him. Growling with dismay he still jumped out of the way for the falling sword hoping his luck was enough to save him.

He managed! The hand didn't come and pull him back into the line of the blade and the unicycle guy hit the ground a few feet away. Hearing Buggy howling in pain Zoro looked up with surprise and saw Ruffy's thin back in a slightly crouched position and digging her heel into the ground. Under her foot was Buggy's hand.

"Don't interfere with Zoro's fight," Ruffy's dangerously level voice sounded.

Zoro couldn't help but let his breath out, and send a silent thank you to his captain as he heard Buggy curse her loudly.

His opponent was looking down at his slumped form with disapproval. "You dodged it, Lolonoa," he stated as if it was a crime.

"Enough," Zoro voiced hoarsely. "I'm sick…"

"Sick?" The man on the unicycle laughed, completely dropping his guard. "You're getting low on blood? Giving up at last? I understand you, Lolonoa. I'm impressed you can even stand up with a wound…"

Zoro kicked out and the unicycle rolled away without its rider, the clown landing on his butt. Zoro stood and glared down at his opponent with utter contempt. "I said I'm sick… of watching your dorky circus performances."

The acrobat wasn't laughing anymore. Without his dear unicycle his speed was cut down and with his opponent in between him and his wheel he couldn't make a run for it either. His pride forbade. "Whatever! I can finish you off either way, with my real sword skill!"

Zoro crouched down deep and crossed his arms over his chest with his katana pointing upwards, waiting for his enemy. The acrobat just charged, holding his sabre to stab, looking clumsy when running on his own two feet and without much technique. Because this man was a clown pirate, not a real swordsman.

Zoro's body moved forward so fast it was like his legs were made out of springs, his three katana crossing each other in a star shape. "Onigiri!"

The one who was cut was the acrobat.

Buggy cried out in surprise and anger. Ruffy cheered. Cabaji… he felt the cuts on his body, how deep they were, and watched his own blood dance like raindrops in front of his eyes. How could this be? How could he be defeated with only one attack? Even though it was the rumoured Pirate hunter Lolonoa Zoro, this shouldn't have happened.

"We are… the Buggy pirates…" the he gasped in shock, watching as the world darkened. "How…? Against some common thieves…?"

Zoro pulled his bandana off. He had called Ruffy an idiot more than once, but these clowns were way stupider than even her. Quite a feat actually. "We're not some thieves," he informed his already unconscious opponent. "We're pirates."

His legs gave away under him and the ground was hard and cold to land on. His head was spinning from the blood loss and he was quite hungry. Maybe cutting himself up had been stupid of him after all. Well, what's done is done and his weary eyes caught sight of Ruffy's proud face looking at him.

"Ru… Ruffy. I'm tired, so I'll sleep for a moment," he told her weakly.

The girl smiled at him. "Sleep tight, Zoro. I'll take care of the rest."

And Zoro fell into a deep sleep.

Ruffy turned towards the last man standing; Buggy the clown. He was giving her a rather scrutinizing glare.

"You are… pirates?" he asked doubtfully.

"That's right," the girl confirmed easily. "So we're taking the chart of the Grand Line you have."

Buggy made a sound in between a scoff and a laugh. "I see. Pirates huh? That explains why you've been such a bother. And you want to go to the Grand Line as well? What for? That's not the kind of place you just go to, especially not nameless pirates like you. So what are you going to do in the Grand Line? Go sight-seeing?"

"I'm going to be the king of pirates," Ruffy told him with a clear voice.

The clown gaped, and then laughed until he lay on the ground holding his stomach and with tears rolling down his cheeks. Ruffy thought the paint on the clown's face must be water proof since it wasn't ruined by the tears.

"You?!" Buggy cried in between laughs. "The king of pirates?! Buwahahahaha! That's the most hilarious thing I've ever heard! A scrawny little girl like you as the pirate king?" He laughed a bit more before he dried his eyes, still chuckling as he got to his feet. "Don't kid yourself, girl. Let me give you a piece of free advice; give up on such big dreams. You'll just die."

"Why don't you try me then?" Ruffy shrugged, having waited patiently for Buggy to stop laughing. "If I win, it proves I'm as good a pirate as anyone and you'll give me the chart."

"Oh?" Buggy voiced, now interested. "So what will you do when you lose?"

"I lose when I die," the girl declared with a slow smirk.

The clown chuckled. "You're funny," he told her. "No brain, but that conviction burning about you is a tad bit admirable. Though that stupid straw hat you have is annoying. Reminds me of that despicable redhead."

Ruffy's heart jumped. "Redhead?" she repeated. There was only one red-haired person the straw hat could remind anyone of. "Shanks?"

Buggy blinked in slight surprise. "Hm? You know him?"

"Do you know where he is now?"

"What's this? You seem awfully interested." Buggy smirked playfully, rubbing his chin in a feigned thoughtful manner. "Do I know where he is? Maybe I don't."

Ruffy gave him a strange look. "You don't know whether you know where Shanks is or not? Are you really stupid?"

"Watch your little tongue, midget! What I'm saying is," he made a move with his hands and eight knives appeared in them, hilts between his fingers, "I won't answer that question. I'm not the kind of nice guy to hand over information just because you want it."

"Oh," Ruffy voiced as she understood, so she smirked excitedly and cracked her knuckles, getting into fighting position. "So I just have to beat you until you tell me."

"Watch your tongue, I said." Buggy kicked his heels into the ground and like stilettos blades came out from the tips of his shoes. He leered at the girl pirate. "You can throw back cannonballs, but that kind of strength doesn't work against blades, correct?"

Not catching the mockery of the clown's voice Ruffy nodded her head. "That's right."

"Good. Chop Chop Bug Saw!"

The clown came apart at the middle and sent his lower body spinning like a saw blade at high speed. Ruffy grabbed Shodai and jumped high into the air, pulling her legs up as close to her body as possible.

"In the air you're nothing but an open target!" she heard Buggy yell.

Looking up she saw how knives came flying. Unable to dodge in mid-air, Ruffy swiftly took out Shodai from her belt and countered instead.

The knives harmlessly clattered to the ground, Buggy's legs returned to him and Ruffy landed softly on her feet, unscratched and with Shodai still sheathed.

Buggy glared at the weapon. He hadn't paid too much attention to it before since the sheath didn't make an impression of high value. "A katana? You a swordsman?"

"Nope, not at all," the pirate girl answered and picked up a loose cobblestone the size of her fist from the street. Though Buggy wanted to know what the girl was doing with a sword if she couldn't use it, he realized she wouldn't give him the time to ask when she threw the rock at him as hard as she could.

Ruffy didn't rest. When Buggy's eyes followed the course of the rock she ran after it with the sheathed Shodai ready. Unfortunately the clown wasn't that easily fooled.

"Chop Chop Escape!"

Buggy's head flew away and Shodai's sheath cut only the air between head and body, and with the speed Ruffy had with her the lack of an impact had her stumble straight into the rubble of the former drinking bar.

Sitting up from the debris Ruffy fixed her hat and looked to the chuckling clown. "Damn, that was a surprise. Never fought with someone who picked himself apart before."

"I'm one of a kind, girl," Buggy proudly and happily informed her, playing with yet another knife in his hand.

The girl smirked and got into fighting position again. "My strength doesn't protect me against blades, but your ability doesn't protect you from fists. If I can get in a punch you're done for."

Buggy smirked back. "_If_ you can manage to get a punch in you mean. Good luck."

The girl beamed. "Thanks!"

"Don't take it as encouragement! Chop Chop Cannon!"

Taken by surprise and at the same time knowing this wasn't a projectile she could dodge Ruffy dropped Shodai to catch the wrist of the knife-armed hand that came at her, the knives only inches away from her face.

"Release."

It was instinct that saved her when she only just managed to move the arm sideways and tilt her head the other way to save her eyes when the hand parted from the wrist. But it was a close call. The knives cut through the skin of the side of her face and her ear.

Falling on her butt the straw hat fell off her head. Ruffy dropped the clown's wrist and swiftly rolled over to get back up, reaching for Shodai first and then her hat.

She froze.

Buggy wasn't late to notice the girl's suddenly rigid form. "What happened now, Mugiwara?"

With blood slowly dripping down her face and neck the girl scrunched her nose up and sent a cold, golden-eyed glare at the clown. "Now you've done it," she growled deeply.

"Done it?" Buggy tilted his head. The girl's glare didn't faze him as he continued to mock her. "Didn't you like being cut in the face? Oh, of course, my bad. For a girl to be cut in the…"

"…hat."

The clown paused, not sure he had heard that right. "… Pardon?"

Ruffy held up her straw hat, her eyes fixed on the torn brim of it. "You cut my hat," she repeated stiffly. "This hat…!" She jumped back to her feet and yelled. "I got this hat from Sun! It's not mine! I was going to find Shanks and give it back to him!"

Buggy scoffed. "So it is Shanks' hat. No wonder it's so familiar. He always wore it beside me back when we were pirate trainees. Used to be my nakama, that cheeky bastard." He chuckled low in his throat and glanced behind the girl towards his hand hiding in the debris. "But if it's that precious to you…"

Following the clown's gaze to behind her, Ruffy quickly jumped sideways with the hat pressed to her chest, just barely avoiding the knife aiming for her back, but she stumbled on a piece of wood and flapped with her arms to regain her balance.

"Protect it better!" Buggy finished his sentence and watched his enemy's chocked face with satisfaction when his hand returned to its owner, along with a pierced straw hat.

Ruffy heard the clown laughing from far away. Her eyes were fixed on the straw hat, her promise and the memory of Sun flashing through her head as fast and merciless as lightning.

* * *

_"This straw hat belongs to Akagami no Shanks?"_

_"I think so. It looks the same as the one he had."_

_Sun examined the hat she had been fanning herself with. "Hm? It's not much of a hat really, and I don't actually need it. I just found it floating on the sea, so I picked it up."_

_Found it on the sea? Did that mean that Shanks was hurt? Was he dead? No, that couldn't be! But he had said that straw hat was really important to him, so why had it been floating around on the sea?_

_She looked up in time to see Sun smile and the straw hat landed on her own head._

_"Hey, it looks good on you."_

_She looked up into Sun's beautiful face. "It does?_

_"Of course, so you keep it. Since you say you know him already, and I won't go around making friends with just anyone, you can take that back to Shanks."_

_"Really? I can?" If Sun said she had to return the hat, it meant Shanks was still alive right?_

_Sun laughed heartedly. "No, you have to. Keep holding on, stay alive until you find that man. Promise me that, okay, Ruffy."_

* * *

Buggy was still laughing. The straw hat was still pieced on the knives in his hand. Ruffy had promised Sun she would live, and as long as she had the straw hat she wouldn't lose her way.

Buggy was still laughing.

Ruffy cried a shrill battle cry and charged for the clown, eyes glowing almost like fire. "I promised Sun to return that hat! Stop laughing!"

"Chop Chop Escape!" Buggy called and his head flew straight up again. But the girl didn't aim for the head. Instead her knee made hard connection with Buggy's stomach, causing him to double over and gasp for air.

Ruffy stood over him, trembling with anger, looking at her treasure lying where it had dropped to the ground with the knives still in it. When had she last felt this sort of red-hot anger? She didn't know. Most of the time anger was a cold feeling.

"You cut my hat," she spat at Buggy. "You laugh at Sun, and to top it off you dare to say you were Shank's comrade? _Don't fuck with me_!"

Buggy rolled around and got up on his knees, holding his stomach, no longer laughing. Moji hadn't exaggerated when he said this girl was strong. That kick had felt like something Richie the lion could deliver.

"I don't know what sun you're talking about," he coughed, "but I can say whatever I want about that blasted redhead."

Ruffy tackled him and straddled the clown's waist, held him by his throat and pulled her arm back, ready to punch.

"Chop…!"

She relaxed her arm and used it like a whip, "Stop that!" she ordered angrily, slapping Buggy clear across the face before his head could fly away again. She got a better hold on the throat and made the clown look her in the eye. "You? Shank's comrade? The two of you aren't alike in the slightest. Shanks is a great man. Don't compare yourself to him."

The clown struggled to breathe. "Who cares? I'll not forgive him for as long as I live!"

Ruffy jumped back when her opponent suddenly shattered beneath her, but he put himself back together just as fast, holding his sore throat as he stood up.

"That airhead is the only man on this earth I will never forgive. He made me eat a devil fruit that robbed me of the ability to swim. Most of the world's treasures rest in the sea! How can I get to them if I can't swim! As if that wasn't enough the treasure map that I had found was lost because he distracted me. My great plan to sell the devil fruit and claim the treasures of the map to build my own ship and have my own crew was delayed by ten years! But I've gotten a hold of myself and decided. If I can't get the treasures under the sea, I'll just grab all the treasures on land with the help of this devil ability." The clown's body raised into the air, leaving the legs standing in front of Ruffy. "That's why," he continued, his eyes moving to something behind the girl, "anybody who touches my treasure, even the slightest little bug… will die hard!"

Buggy attacked, but his aim was not Ruffy. The girl pirate turned around looking for her enemy's new target. It was Nami.

Ruffy had almost forgotten. When Zoro had fought Cabaji, the thief had excused herself to go look for the treasures. From the sack she carried it was obvious she had found them, and seeing how possessive Buggy was about his treasures it caused him to completely lose sight of his previous enemy.

He learnt the hard way that ignoring Monkey D. Ruffy was a bad idea. Letting her out of your sight and leaving your unprotected legs with her was even worse. As Nami turned and tried to run with the too heavy load, Ruffy used as much force as when she kicked his stomach, only in the most sensitive place.

All of Buggy fell to the ground in pathetically trembling and moaning heaps. "You… you dare… my balls… balls…"

Ruffy turned to where the clown's upper body lay, only an arm's reach away from Nami's feet. "You're fighting me, Buggy" the girl pirate reminded. "Don't change target before we're done."

Nami sighed with relief, grateful for the pirate girl's fast thinking. The bag was really heavy this time and there was no way she would have managed to outrun Buggy, especially not since he didn't need to run.

The thief took a better grip of the bag, fully intent on getting as far away as possible while Buggy was still squirming like a worm on the hook.

Ruffy didn't agree to that idea though. "Oi, Nami. Drop that sack and get the hell away," she called.

"Never!" the thief yelled right back, holding the bag even tighter.

Ruffy blinked. Nami's heartbeats defied the idea of letting the gold go as much as her voice did, but that wasn't what caught Ruffy's attention. There was something there that wasn't just the love of treasure, it sounded like a _need_ for them, almost like a deep wish…

"Drop the treasure? No freaking way!" the thief shouted in absolute refusal. "Why would I leave my treasures behind?"

Buggy recovered faster after hearing that. "Y… your treasures…?"

"Damn straight!" Nami declared boldly. "I'm a thief who steals from pirates, and just now I've stolen this loot from you, which makes it all mine."

Ruffy hit her palm. "I see. Yes, that does sound logical."

"Like hell!" Buggy roared, though still with a squeak of pain in his voice as he started to get up. "That treasure is mine! It won't become yours just because you steal it! Just what kind of idiot brought you up?"

The thief girl narrowed her eyes and scoffed. "A crook lecturing a crook in how to be a good girl? Don't make me laugh!" Then, in a moment of mischief, she playfully smiled down at the man before her. "I haven't sunken low enough to let a pirate bastard make remarks on what I do."

Nami impishly stuck her tongue out. Buggy didn't take that too well.

"I hope you're prepared to die, Nami," the clown growled through clenched teeth, as he took a deep breath. "Chop Chop Festival!"

Both girls jumped when Buggy's body shattered into pieces. Ruffy got hit when the parts of the clown's legs moved past her towards Nami.

"See if you can protect your friend now, Mugiwara!" Buggy howled.

It didn't look too good Ruffy admitted. There seemed to be a reason Buggy had wished her good luck in getting a punch in on him. "Damn! Splitting into so many parts. How am I supposed to hit… this…?"

Buggy the clown still hadn't learnt the lesson to not ignore Ruffy. The girl had sharp eyes. So while the clown pirate went to hunt down Nami for the treasure, the one he should be paying attention to found his weakness.

With a gleeful smirk Ruffy got a hold of one of Buggy's feet, because they were the only parts of him that couldn't fly.

Nami was running for dear life, holding onto the treasure with desperate strength as Buggy's body parts kept hitting her, knives tried to stab her and his head was almost close enough for Nami to feel his breath on the back of her head. Why wasn't Ruffy doing anything?! Buggy was going to kill her for sure if Ruffy didn't find a way to protect her because Nami wasn't letting go of the treasure, even if she died. But she couldn't die! What could happen to everyone if she died?

"Give back my treasure!" Buggy roared, and from the corner of her eye Nami saw the flash of a knife that would surely hit her in the side.

'Bellemére-san!'

Just like that, it was like Buggy dropped dead. The shattered body fell to the ground and didn't move anymore. Nami looked around at the bloodless body parts with chocked disbelief.

"Didn't you hear me, Buggy? Your opponent is still me," Ruffy's voice called from the other side of the wreck of the bar.

Oh, so this was Ruffy's doing Nami thought with relief and feeling very stupid for her moment of belief in supernatural involvement. The thief looked up, and was honestly surprised to see Ruffy hold the clown's naked foot to her throat.

"You… little… I know this feeling." Buggy's head lay on its side right behind Nami and it didn't seem like he could move it at all, but he could still shout. "This feeling… You mean to tell me your strength doesn't come from the devil fruit?!"

"I don't know," Ruffy responded with a shrug of her shoulders. "I am strong, but I don't know if it's because of the fruit or not."

"Who the hell cares?!" Buggy howled as if he hadn't asked anything in the first place. "Remove that from me! Lying like this is embarrassing! I can't move!"

Nami was looking down at a severed head still talking. A _severed head_ that was still talking. The thief's stomach turned and turned until the top of her disgust-meter was reached and she kicked Buggy's head away from her with a shrill scream. But she had kicked the head in Ruffy's direction and the surprise made the pirate girl drop the foot. She caught the head, and the clown started to recover immediately.

"Unforgiveable," he near whispered.

Ruffy thought about it, but instead released the head with a disgusted expression. She could hold Buggy's foot to her throat but she would rather die before she did the same with his head. It wouldn't win the battle for her anyway.

His head levitated in front of Ruffy's face. "Don't worry, Mugiwara. I'll come and get you as soon as I've gotten my treasure back. It won't be too long," he said, and almost at the same time Nami shrieked.

The thief felt a pull on the sack of treasure, but couldn't find anybody pulling it at first. That is, until she managed to twist the bag and catch sight of just what she was having a tug of war with. The most annoying thing about Buggy the clown was that he could do two things at the same time. While his head was with Ruffy, his feet had run off and his hands had gotten a hold of the sack Nami was carrying.

"What the hell!?" she protested. "Let go! This treasure is mine."

"You let go!" Buggy screamed back at the thief, once again hitting her with his flying body parts and pulling at the sack with his hands.

Even though he should have learnt it the first time he'd done it, Buggy still didn't get the hint. Ruffy ran faster than the clown's head flew.

"Stop ignoring me!" she cried angrily and kicked the floating head with all her might.

Nami yelped and fell on her butt when the tug of war between her and Buggy was interrupted, or to be more precise, there was a forceful shove from the other end and the sack passed over Nami's head as she fell back, accidentally releasing her hold. Turning around she found the material of the sack torn and Buggy's unconscious head on top of the treasure.

Ruffy smirked. "That kick was from the old chief," she informed the clown. Not that he could hear her, but still.

Nami sighed with relief. "Th… thank you."

"Don't mention it," Ruffy grinned at her before she seemed to be hit by another thought. "Hm? Oh yeah, the chart. It should be here somewhere."

The chart wasn't the only thing that lay around Nami realized. "My treasure! It got scattered everywhere." She moaned a little and glared at the dark-haired girl. "And you, dry the blood from your face, it hurts to look at it."

The other girl stared blankly at her. "Why does it matter to you? I'm a pirate, remember."

"Even so, you're a _girl_," Nami lectured. "Well, I am impressed you defeated Buggy and all, but you're bleeding a lot. Here, use my tissue."

Ruffy clumsily accepted the white thing forced on her. She muttered a bit, but at the same time she was a little happy, because Nami worried about her, so Ruffy used the tissue and dried her face as she looked for the chart. Her sharp eyes spotted it quite fast among the scattered body parts of Buggy's hips.

"Found it! The chart over the Grand Line," she called in victory.

"Good," Nami voiced as she gathered half of the treasure in half of the torn sack, making a tight knot on it to make sure not to drop anything.

"Wait just a minute there," a dog-like growl suddenly sounded.

The girls turned around to see Buggy's head floating again, burning with anger.

"Darn. He's still alive," Ruffy complained and rolled up the chart, putting it into the safety of her bra.

Nami by all means didn't want to be involved in a fight between those two monsters and looked around for an escape, or at least a safe place to hide, but found something better.

Buggy smirked, his eyes glowering with blood thirst. The face of pure madness. "I'm alive, Mugiwara, but you will die! All of you will die right here! Gather up, all parts!"

Ruffy grit her teeth, keeping her eyes on Buggy's head as she ducked away from flying body parts. She was going to finish this the moment the clown came back… together…

Buggy stood with his mouth open, feeling very strange. "What…?" he squeaked, blinking repeatedly. He had called for his body to gather and pulled the strings that were his connection to every part. So why… didn't it feel right?

Ruffy couldn't help but giggle at the sight in front of her. Sure, Buggy had gotten his body parts back together, but he was missing a lot of body. Quite frankly he was only feet, hands and head.

"Are you looking for these, Buggy?" Nami's voice sang out sweetly and Buggy's head whipped around, only to find something he really didn't want to see; tightly secured in a rope under the thief's foot was Buggy's missing body.

"Yikes! My parts!"

Ruffy couldn't stand up straight. She was shaking with giggles, tears forming in her eyes and her face was reddening.

"Stop laughing you fool! This isn't funny! Release my body parts, you little thief!" Buggy cried and waved with his hands, which only caused Ruffy to laugh harder.

"I said stop laughing you flashy idiot!" Buggy roared. "Nami! Untie my body parts at once! I'm gonna kill you!"

"You actually expect me to let go of my upper hand after hearing that declaration?" the thief queried with a lifted eyebrow.

Still giggling Ruffy used the sheathed Shodai to juggle the little Buggy up from the ground, like a baseball, and she swung the sword like a bat. "Cursed Power…"

"Wait! No fair!"

Shodai hit Buggy right on the nose. "Home Run!"

* * *

Nami was done gathering all the treasure, this time divided in two sacks since her big one had been torn, and turned to look at the dark-haired girl. After the mirth had passed, Ruffy had sat on the ground with her torn up hat, staring sadly at it as memories flashed in her eyes. Nami couldn't help but pity her a little bit.

"Is it really that important to you, that straw hat?"

"Yes." Ruffy replied quietly, managing a smile as she sat the hat on her head. "But I can still wear it, and I beat up Buggy too, so I guess we're even."

Still, Nami could see in the way Ruffy wobbled when she walked that she was still very upset.

Pirates trampled and destroyed everything that was important to others. That was Nami's unchanging view of pirates, but Ruffy had something that was dear to her too. Pirate or not, she wasn't a bad person. She had even fought for a dog's sake.

"I can mend it for you," Nami said softly.

"Huh?" Ruffy turned to her and blinked. "Did you say something?"

"Nothing," Nami denied and instead held up one of the two sacks of treasure. "Here, carry one of these will ya, they're really heavy." She couldn't help but smile brightly in satisfaction at that statement. "That Buggy really had a good eye for treasure. This is worth at least ten million beli!"

There was a softness around her mouth when Ruffy smiled back at her and accepted the load. "Fine, I'll help you carry that. But I'll probably have to carry Zoro too."

Nami blinked and shook her head. What was that just now? Ruffy's smile, it had almost looked like she… knew something.

Shaking her head again Nami dismissed the feeling as an effect of the battle she had just witnessed. Buggy's body splitting apart, the hands and head flying around as well as the body parts coming back together had been like seeing a dream while your eyes were still wide open. It was bound go cause her brain to short circuit at some places. Damn, she was going to have nightmares tonight.

Ruffy kneeled down beside her male friend and patted his head rather than shook him. "Oi, Zoro. Time to wake up. We're leaving now."

The swordsman groaned. "Is it over already?" He could have used another few hours of sleep before getting up.

"Yup," Ruffy smiled widely. "I got the chart and… Oi, Nami. You our nakama now?"

The other girl sighed. "I told you a dozen times; I won't become a pirate, but I can agree to work with you. With your strength I can gather the treasure from even stronger pirates than before."

Ruffy grinned. "Good. See, Zoro. We got a navigator too."

The man tried to fully understand what that meant but his head spun like a merry-go-round as he sat up. "Whatever, I don't think I can walk yet," he muttered, holding his head.

"Of course you can't," Nami scoffed. "If you could, I wouldn't call any of you guys human."

"Why not me?" Ruffy asked blinking.

"Guess three times! Because you're so skinny and still so strong! There's definitely something weird about you, and I'm not talking about eating a devil fruit."

"Hey. I didn't get to guess a single time."

Nami slapped a hand over her eyes and counted to five. This girl. "Why do you have to be like that?" she moaned.

"I don't know…" Ruffy hoisted Zoro up on her back to give him a piggy-back ride before she paused. "What do you mean?" she asked and stared at Nami.

Zoro struggled weakly against his position. "Isn't there a better way to carry me?" he near whined where he hung over his captain's shoulder.

Ruffy didn't answer. She stared at something behind Nami's back.

"Oi, you there," a sharp voice rung out behind the thief, causing Nami to tense up.

"Townspeople," Ruffy said, like a greeting.

"That's right," a young man in the front of the mob of people confirmed, his eyes flickering over the scene of destruction. "What happened here? Did the pirates fight among themselves? If you know anything, please tell us."

"Oh, I see," Nami sighed relieved and relaxed. "For a second I thought there were more pirates." She turned to fully face the people to give them a proper explanation. At least that was her intention. She never got the chance though. Somebody had spotted the still unconscious chief.

"Chief!" a male voice cried and the townspeople turned to look for the old man. Seeing his beaten form they all ran to his side.

"How terrible!" a woman cried angrily.

"Who could have done something like this?"

"Is he even alive?" a worried voice choked out.

"It must have been the pirates!" a man spat.

Hearing that last bit, Ruffy being Ruffy took a step forward. "I'm sorry. I did that to him."

A lot of angry faces turned and glared at the one who had admitted to crime. Nami almost swallowed her tongue.

"Why did you have to say that?!" she squeaked.

"But you saw I did it," the dark-haired girl replied.

"Ye… yes I saw you, but the situation…"

The villagers had heard enough. This girl had beaten down their chief, their kind leader who bravely continued to march into the town just to give food to Shushu, the late pet food store owner's little dog. They stood up clutching to brooms and farming tools they had probably grabbed to use for weapons.

"How dare you attack an old man!?"

"We won't accept excuses!"

"What are you? Pirates?"

Nami stood stiff, searching for the right words to say.

Ruffy opened her mouth. "Yup, we're pirates."

A hush fell over the crowd at that blunt confession and Nami knew right then that she had never met anyone as stupidly honest as Ruffy. Zoro laughed hard, clutching his hurting side where the wound was still bleeding a little. Nami couldn't see the humour of the situation.

"IDIOT!" she screamed at Ruffy.

"But we are," Ruffy defended.

"GET THEM!" the townspeople cried in union.

The two girls, one crying and one laughing, turned their tails and ran the other way with a mob of furious people picking up the chase. Zoro groaned slightly and tried to hold his side and Ruffy's neck at the same time, but he shouldn't complain he supposed. His captain was probably carrying him as carefully as she could. He wasn't a small load after all, almost the double size of Ruffy.

"I hate you!" Nami cried out, mentally cursing the girl with the straw hat she had pitied only moments ago. "Why did you have to say that? They got so angry."

Instead of answering Ruffy kept grinning. "Isn't this a good place?"

"What was that?"

Ruffy had some trouble holding on to both Zoro and one sack of gold, but she still ran as fast as she could and smiled brightly. "They got so angry because they love their chief. No matter what we had said, they'd still be mad at us. Turn into that alleyway."

The thief spied an opening between the houses and quickly dived into the narrow path. From the corner of her eye she saw something small and light grey, and thought she saw the other girl bend down to it.

"VOFF!"

"What? Shushu?!"

Nami dared a look over her shoulder. The townspeople had stopped, because in their way stood an angrily barking little dog. A very familiar angrily barking little dog.

"Shushu?"

"I _really_ like that dog," laughed Ruffy. "Thank you, dog!"

They kept running all the way to the sea, and when they finally reached the harbour safe and sound, Nami stopped to catch her breath. "We got away, thanks to Shushu," she said and inhaled deeply, letting the air out in a long sigh. "Man, I don't think we deserved that."

"It doesn't matter. We're finished in this town anyway," the dark-haired girl said lightly, still grinning. She had almost dropped Zoro during the run, so she let the sack of gold down to get a better grasp of him; holding one of his thick arms around her shoulders and her other arm around Zoro's waist, half carrying and half dragging him along instead of the piggyback ride. He was quite heavy and Ruffy didn't really like the feeling of blood being soaked up by her cloths. Zoro had bled so much.

"Yes… but still," Nami mumbled to herself.

They walked up to their separate boats, and Ruffy gawked at the one Nami headed for. It was partly painted in bright colours and had a little cabin.

"Hey, is that your boat? Cool! You're so lucky!"

"You think so?" Nami shrugged, not sharing the opinion but not complaining either. "I stole it from some dumb pirates earlier."

"Dumb pirates, you say?"

Both girls looked up in surprise to hear the boat talk. It wasn't the boat though. Three men, clown pirates from the looks if it, stood up from where they had hidden in Nami's vessel, or their own more accurately since it was originally theirs. The men all glared at the thief girl with vindictive eyes and wide smirks. None of them seemed to have weapons though.

"We've been waiting for you, thief girl."

"To think we would find our stolen boat in this port."

"You didn't forget about us, did you?"

Nami laughed nervously, still not fully recovered from seeing them. This was unexpected. After she robbed them of everything but the cloths they wore she had thought they had drowned, or that the marines had picked them up, or that some other ship had done so and dutifully handed them over to the marines. How could they have come all this way? Swimming?

"Friends of yours?" Ruffy asked.

"We sort of met before," Nami shared uneasily.

"Not sort of! We have a long history together, thief girl," one of the pirates said and walked up to Ruffy. "So you got some friends with you now? Good. Then we can take you all out and give you to captain Buggy as a gift."

"He's not there anymore," Ruffy told them.

"Yeah right, you little liar," the fattest of the pirates scoffed. "We've heard a lot of explosions from captain's special cannon balls."

The man in front of Ruffy shook his head like a parent before a troublesome child. "Don't you know it's bad to steal other people's stuff? Hey you!" He patted the green head resting over the girl's shoulder. "Don't hang your head like a dead man when I'm talking to you."

Zoro, irritated from lack of blood and fatigue and the fact nobody let him sleep in peace, growled and looked up. Ruffy had never seen grown men scream so girlishly before, or swim so fast, straight into the open ocean too. Nami was now seriously wondering if those pirates really had swum all the way here from where she left them.

"Zoro has a scary face," Ruffy figured when the men were almost out of sight.

"No, I don't," Zoro denied sourly, his feelings a little hurt. Those guys hadn't had to scream _that_ loud. He hadn't even wanted to scare them, just shut them up.

"Really? Well, it doesn't matter." The girl captain gently lifted her friend into her little boat before releasing it and kicking out from the dock. Nami followed the Ruffy's example and they both opened the sails.

"Hey, you're flying Buggy's mark," Zoro pointed out.

"Yeah, it was their boat to begin with," Nami explained with a shrug. "I'll take it down as soon as I can."

A voice suddenly echoed over the waters. "Hold it right there, you little brats!"

The three pirates turned back to the dock to see a man with white hair and a yellow shirt supporting himself on his knees as he seemed to be out of breath.

"The old chief," Ruffy voiced with slight wonder when she recognized him.

Boodle stood there gasping for air, tired from running all the way down to the harbour. He was an old man; he shouldn't press his body so hard he thought as he rested his body's weight on his knees. But Buggy's gang was gone and the people of the town were unharmed. His town and his life had been saved by the three children sailing away with the winds.

"Thank you!" he called after the small boats. "I will never forget you!"

The dark-haired pirate girl grinned. "Anytime. Take care of yourself!"

"Ah," Zoro breathed in content and sank deeper down the railing. "It's the second time we run out of a town and are thanked at the dock. Just what kind of pirates are we?"

Ruffy just laughed.

"All well that ends well," Nami sighed, but didn't feel that bad about being chased away now. After all, she had her reward. "The treasure was certainly worth it. Hey, Ruffy, give me the treasure," she said holding her hand out for the sack of gold.

The other girl stared at her. "Treasure?"

"Yes, the sack I gave you earlier," Nami reminded and waved her hand more impatiently. "I saw you were carrying it before, give it to me."

Ruffy blinked blankly and looked around in her little boat. There was a rug lying there so she checked it, but it was just the sack that had held the food from Masako-baasan.

"Where. Is. The treasure?" Nami asked slowly.

She couldn't find it in her boat. Ruffy scratched her head in thought before she remembered she had let go of the sack when she tried to get a better hold of Zoro. "I must have left it on the dock."

The thief's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "You did what?! That was my treasure! Five million beli!"

"But I was minding Zoro," Ruffy pointed out with a whine.

Roaring like a lion the navigator reached over, grabbed the girl captain's cloths and tried to haul her overboard. "_Baka_!"

"Stop! I can't swim! Go back and get it if you want it so badly!" Ruffy cried, desperately clutching to the railing and fought back when Nami shoved her head into the water.

"Then I'd be killed! If you ever lose my treasure again I'll feed you to the fishes!"

"I don't wanna be fish-food!"

Nami let go, sat back and laughed. She couldn't help it. Ruffy's shout just now was too funny. Zoro laughed too. Ruffy shook her head, trying to have some sort of revenge by showering her laughing friends with little droplets of seawater. It didn't work and with a glare of hurt pride Ruffy picked up her torn hat floating on the surface of the sea, walked to sit in the bow and resolutely sat the hat back on her head.


End file.
